An institution of society clubbing in the capital since being set up by Mark Birley in 1963, the venue recently took delivery of a new Martin Audio sound system - supplied by dealers LMC Audio to fulfill a design conceived by François' company, Sonotec Ltd.
The contract had been offered to Paré, who had become known to the venue in his previous work capacity, when he would take Martin Audio demo rigs into the venue. "We had put on a show there using a Martin W2 system and they liked the sound and brand value," he said. Whilst competitive systems were proposed by other installers, Sonotec was awarded the contract on the strength of its design.
Paré was clear about his system configuration - but it was only when subjected to a listening demo at Martin Audio's High Wycombe that he discovered the ideal satellite box in the new ultra-compact AQ6. He has thus used 24 of the enclosures distributed around the venue.
Although the venue will stage live concerts he said he was concerned about the DJ's propensity for Left/Right panning. "The club wanted good quality, clean L/R imaging throughout the venue - and the AQ6's provided the answer."
The AQ6's are thus being used as delays and satellites boxes in the restaurant, lounge and private room areas. In the lounge they are complemented by a concealed AQ210 sub - controlled via Martin's dedicated AQX system controller - while elsewhere system EQ is set in the BSS Minidrive.
"The AQ6's are perfect because the frequency response goes down further that the EM15's which I had been considering originally," assesses Paré. "It has a warm sound and is non-intrusive."
Housed in thick-walled structural ABS foam enclosures, the AQ6 achieves its dynamic range (80Hz-20kHz ±3dB) from a 6.5" (165mm) direct radiating, long-throw bass driver and a 1" (25mm) doped fabric dome tweeter coupled to a 90° x 90° HF horn.
And since Annabel's also stages popular live acts, Paré drew up a band spec incorporating Martin Audio's LE12JB wedges - based on their performance and low profile.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
