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UK – In a constant drive to keep its long-standing, multi-faceted resorts at the cutting edge of all round entertainment, Butlin’s recently commissioned advance sound system upgrades at their facilities in Skegness and Bognor Regis.

Since Butlin’s entertainment mix now extends far beyond its origins as a ‘holiday camp’ destination — today ranging from Big Weekenders to Conferences and Events — Head of Technical Entertainment, Andrew Sugg, recognised that its development should be matched with professional, best-in-class audio. And so he turned to his regular contractor, Robin Shephard-Blandy of Illuminate Design for advice. The outcome was an advanced, and scalable Martin Audio Wavefront Precision WPC line array in each of its 1200-plus capacity Centre Stage venues.

Butlin’s are no strangers to the British loudspeaker brand. “We’ve been using Martin Audio systems for probably 20-plus years,” says Sugg. Certainly the old sound system at Centre Stage in Skegness — one of four integrated high-octane venues within the holiday complexes — was showing its age. “Both upgrades were long overdue,” he adds. “Robin has worked with us over the years and understands our business and its requirements.”

This can vary from family entertainment, through to Big Weekenders, featuring DJs and bands, while onstage interviews and year-round family entertainment also require high grade speech intelligibility. “So the actual scale of what a system needs to deliver is multi-faceted.”

Conversations took place with different brand vendors before Martin Audio’s Technical Sales Support, Nigel Meddemmen, undertook site visits to Skegness and Bognor Regis and created design options via visualisation models in Martin Audio’s DISPLAY 3 software. Andrew Sugg had recognised the value that Martin Audio could bring through their support and development opportunities for Butlin’s team.

SEEING A NAME LIKE ‘MARTIN AUDIO’ ON THE TECH SPECS HELPS CEMENT THE FACT WE ARE A PROFESSIONAL VENUE.

But the implementation would require far from a cookie cutter approach since structurally the Centre Stages at the respective venues couldn’t have been more different. “The one in Skegness is high, with a balcony, while the one in Bognor Regis is in a fairly low-ceilinged, very wide venue.”

The designs are based respectively on four- and five-box WPC hangs, with four of Martin Audio’s shorter throw TORUS T1215 in a centre cluster. Multiples of CDD15 provide left/right outfills, while CDD10s are detailed for delay duties, and five CDD12s provide balcony coverage in Skegness.

Subwoofers comprise eight stacks of two SXC118 in a cardioid array, run off Martin Audio iKON iK42 multi-channel amplifiers, while iK81s drive the remainder of the rig. “The enhanced coverage and controllability of the Skegness design was such an improvement on the previous setup that it was also deployed at Bognor Regis to deliver a much smoother sub deployment across the room.”

Meddemmen’s Martin Audio tech support colleagues, Paul Connaughton and Marc Paynter, took over at the later stages, assisting with system engineering and commissioning. ‘Hard Avoid’ was applied to the rear of the venue at Skegness, where it abuts onto the Skyline Pavilion, while at Bognor Regis, Centre Stage is housed in a building directly above Reds, another Butlin’s venue — and so that also required some sound isolation. The installation has been set up as analogue but can flip via a managed network switch to Dante digital as needed.

“The fact that Martin Audio were able to validate the system and put their seal of approval on it gave reassurance not only to Andrew’s guys but also visiting acts and engineers that the system has been set up correctly,” says Shephard-Blandy.

Andrew Sugg takes it further. “Although we don’t need to be rider compliant for day-to-day business, when we go into Big Weekenders, seeing a name like ‘Martin Audio’ on the tech specs helps cement the fact we are a professional venue. We now see this very much as an ongoing relationship.”

As for Illuminate Design they managed to deliver both venues, which were commissioned close apart, without either going dark. “The fact that we stayed fully operational is a testament to how smoothly the transition from the old systems to the new went,” acknowledges Andrew Sugg.

Summing up, he says, “What Martin Audio and Illuminate Design have achieved is superb. Artists coming through are extremely happy, putting us at the professional end of audio … something you wouldn’t necessarily expect at Butlin’s.”

“In fact we are now looking at future projects which will certainly involve Martin Audio and Illuminate Design again.”

AUS – The Caterpillar Club, Sydney’s latest underground music venue, boasts one of the world’s largest vinyl collections.

Drawing inspiration from the 70s, and the vibrant clubs of New York, bands also play five nights a week, and according to general manager, Emma Franceschini “any time there’s not a band on there’s a DJ spinning vinyl.” This includes the secret Bamboo Room Tiki bar where DJs can also be found at the weekend.

Tasked with turning the vision of operators Stefan & Anton Forte (from Swillhouse Group) into reality, was renowned sound engineer Anthony Russo from Technical Audio Group (TAG). And he instinctively turned to Martin Audio’s premium CDD loudspeaker system to meet all eventualities.

IT’S THE PREMIUM SOLUTION FOR A LOT OF TOP VENUES AROUND AUSTRALIA

As he emphasises, this needed to be a statement of uncompromising quality “where every seat needs to be the best seat.” His design, therefore, was built to handle everything from the warm sound of vinyl to the crisp clarity of digital recordings through to the huge demands of the club’s live acts.

There is little Anthony Russo doesn’t know about the characteristics of Martin Audio’s coaxial differential dispersion technology, having specified CDD many times. “It’s the premium solution for a lot of top venues around Australia,” he acknowledges. “In every room [at the Caterpillar] you’ll see CDD8s and 6s and concealed SX110 subs in the ceiling and under the banquette seating right through to the FOH system which is a powerful CDD12 system—with a delay system, complete with LE100 foldback wedges.”

In total, he has equipped the venue with over 60 speakers, 30 amplifier channels, and a staggering 40k watts of available amplifier power, ensuring that each patron is treated to unprecedented even coverage over eight zones.Even the Bamboo Room indulges patrons with a powerful Martin Audio system that would be more at home on a large dance floor.

To ensure the detail of vinyl can be heard with absolute hi-fi clarity, while enabling easy conversation to take place at the tables, the large complement of speakers delivers a range from lounge low-volume chill levels to a live performance experience of a concert without needing to be overdriven.

Explaining the rationale, he says, “It is also designed to provide consistent coverage of the whole room while permitting everyone to have what I call a ‘headphone experience’. There’s always a speaker nearby, not too loud, just at the right level. It’s something people haven’t been used to, a real HiFi experience in a live venue environment and that’s why we’re infinitely proud.”

This focus on precision extends to cutting-edge digital audio processing, networking, mixing and amplification, while to do justice to the vast vinyl library, Caterpillar invested in a handmade Australian custom-made rotary DJ console from Condesa.

The final confirmation comes from Emma Franceschini: “The thing about the Martin Audio system is you have that extra clarity in the room. And since we’re a vinyl bar, and you want to be able to hear the nuances, a world class sound system like Martin Audio lets you do that.”

US – Under his company ear NETWORKS, NYC-based Kurt Schlossberg has been specifying exclusively Martin Audio sound systems in Time Out Markets around the world for a number of years.

But recently he undertook his first project for Chilean-born restaurateur Juan Santa Cruz, as Obvio joined the operator’s other upmarket establishments, including two in Central London’s trendy Mayfair and Notting Hill areas.

His latest modern supper club and cocktail bar — named Obvio — is right on his own Manhattan doorstep, and again it is an exclusive Martin Audio house, taking advantage of the CDD series’ unique coaxial differential dispersion technology.

MARTIN AUDIO IS THE ONLY HIGH-END BRAND I USE

“Juan only does super exclusive places, and over Zoom he told me about this little jewel box that he was creating in New York,” said Schlossberg. “He wanted the most discreet high performing system that could be colour matched, and which could double as triple A background as well as triple A foreground. I said there’s really only one product I would put in there!”

Once again the installer recommended CDD as he has for many venues since first discovering them on a visit to the ISE Show in Amsterdam, soon after the series was launched in 2015. “I walked into the [Martin Audio] demo room,” he said, “and I was immediately blown away. Although I have the pick of the litter when it comes to commercial audio, Martin Audio is the only high-end brand I use — it is literally the best of the best of what it is and is my ‘go to’ for all critical path foreground music.”

Explaining further, he said, “When you can take CDD6 and CDD8 and mix them with the punchy subs they are matched to, you get an experience that makes you prouder in a commercial environment than you would be in your own listening room. And that’s something I’ve not been able to replicate from any other manufacturer.”

And Kurt Schlossberg should know, with four decades in audio (analogue-into-digital), architecture, planning and playlist curating under his belt — skills that were brought to bear at Obvio. “Because a lot of the walls and panelling are rounded it has a very cocoon like feeling and so I worked closely with the architects … and felt good to be part of the architectural process again.”

Matching the speakers to the lighter tone of the wall paneling, four CDD6s are wall-mounted towards the front of the building, with eight CDD8 at the front, where punchier sound is focused over the dance area. Softer background music during the daytime trading is followed by a substantial hike in SPL after dark, when DJs take to the Pioneer CDJs. This is enhanced by a single SXC115 “which lives above the amoebic shape over the bar, and completely out of sight,” as he puts it.

The quality of the sound system has generally received favourable reviews. “In fact it’s proven to be quite a hit,” Kurt Schlossberg exclaims in conclusion.