The dark wooden décor suggests a much older establishment, but Grasshopper Off the Green came into being only t12 years ago. Its current sound system, built around Renkus-Heinz loudspeakers and subwoofers is even younger than that, with an update in 2011. But the amps that went in with the loudspeakers couldn't keep up with the pub's near-constant use, so local A/V integrator Starview Satellite replaced them with reliable, cost-effective, high-fidelity KLR-3200 and nX 3.02 amplifiers from U.S. amplifier manufacturer Ashly Audio.
"They've got a ton of stuff going on at Grasshopper," said Rich Trombitas, regional sales & product manager with A/V manufacturers rep firm Cardone, Solomon & Associates (CS&A), which handles Ashly Audio gear in New York City and northern New Jersey. "They've got karaoke, video DJs, and live music seven nights a week, and their sound system feeds whatever's going on to other floors and zones. But the old amps were smoking and sounding awful; it was a bad situation. They needed something that would not only sound good, but that would stand up to the demands that they placed on the system, practically around the clock."
The heavily distributed and zoned system makes use of Renkus-Heinz PN/PNX-Series, TRX-Series, and Sygma SG/SGX Series loudspeakers and subwoofers. After Starview Satellite's renovation, six dual-channel Ashly KLR-3200 amplifiers delivering 1,600W down to 2 Ohms now power the bulk of the system. In addition, one dual-channel Ashly nX 3.02 multi-mode amplifier delivers 2,000W per channel to a pair of 4-Ohm Renkus-Heinz subwoofers.
"No one builds reliable amplifiers like Ashly," said Trombitas. "And if, heaven forbid, they do have any issues, no one backs up their amplifiers like Ashly. It's their combination of solid designs, great manufacturing, and personal customer service that makes Ashly such a stand-out manufacturer, especially in the context of today's plastic gear and menu-tree customer service standards. Starview Satellite was able to give Grasshopper Off the Green great Ashly amps that were not only reliable, but also tremendously affordable. It's the kind of win-win that seems so rare in today's world, but Ashly's still got it."
(Jim Evans)
