However, his life has been made easier with the discovery of the BSS 9088 Soundweb networked digital matrix system, which he used for the first time recently on installations for the ITC Sheraton Hotel Group in India. LSI won a competitive tender to provide an AV solution for two Irish pubs, situated within the Sheratons in Delhi and Kolkata (Calcutta). With Irish theming, these act essentially as fun pubs, but with a dancefloor and potent sound systems.
Ian Harris was asked to support LSI's Delhi-based Systems Integration Division and programme Soundweb for the two installations. "Although I had completed many projects using a similar device, I had never used Soundweb before," he admitted. "But it was so straightforward, and the programming was intuitive." By the time the plane touched down in Delhi he had already familiarized himself with the system architecture. "I opened up the programme at 3am, completed the design by 9am, and was onsite at 4pm ready to connect to the system. By 9pm we had a working system, fully equalized."
The design is based on a simple four-button panel with integral LEDs and a keyswitch located in the DJ booth. Compressor/limiting values have been set and also a leveller for the background music path within Soundweb. External faders on the mixers allow the DJ or band to control the system, and sound in the bar can be adjusted manually, with the Soundweb's leveller ensuring that a stable signal level to the background music amplifiers is maintained.
(Ruth Rossington)