LEA Amps Power Popular Gastropub In Texas: Thirsty Lion

At the time when these new projects were getting underway, Platinum AVL was still sourcing another amplifier manufacturer but was on the lookout for a lighter, more compact amp with DSP. Paul Mar, system designer and engineer at Platinum AVL, explained that the team was nervous at first about trying a new brand when they began their search for fresh options. But their concerns quickly vanished as soon as they learned about LEA Professional’s team of industry veterans and their 200 years of combined experience. 

“I had heard a lot about LEA Professional, having seen them at Infocomm. Once I understood the brain trust that exists within the company, it gave me a huge amount of confidence in the product and, as a result, the project,” said Mar. “With multiple systems we install around the country, LEA amplifiers are perfect to meet that need with their reliability, feature set, technology, size, and weight.

The Grandscape location, the larger of the two, is split over two stories, with a bar and rooftop patio, plus 6,500 square feet of outdoor seating. The audio system provides a lighter background music mix at a lower volume level during the day, while building in the ability to crank things up during higher-capacity happy hours and livelier special events. Since the amps in Thirsty Lion are on 24/7, Platinum AVL and the team at the Thirsty Lion both agreed that a reliable amp with remote monitoring via the Cloud was a huge priority for them. With Texas being infamous for power outages, the team didn’t need to take any unnecessary risks, which made the LEA Professional Cloud Platform the most practical choice. 

“The Cloud has come to be crucial for us,” said Mar. There have already been instances where a power cut occurred that I wasn’t aware of and the Cloud allowed us to see the issue and resolve it. Without this, we would have had to contact a local technician at an extra cost to try to get someone down there before opening time.” 

Not only did the Cloud provide critical support, Platinum AVL also spoke highly of the customer support LEA Professional offered them. “When I need tech support, I have no problem feeling confident that I will get my answer right away or within a quick amount of time,” said Mar.  

For Mar and Platinum AVL, a Crestron integrator, the ability to integrate the Connect Series amplifiers into the AV system with the Crestron LEA Plugin was a major benefit. The Connect Series Crestron Control Module allows integrators to utilize the Crestron software platform to control and monitor essential functions and features within the Connect Series amplifier family.