Category: Martin Audio

Located in the Mumbai suburb of Bandra the Woodside Inn has received a substantial sound system upgrade, with integrators Zoodio Pro once again specifying a premium Martin Audio system.

The newly installed system comprises Martin Audio Blackline X10 for the main PA, supported by a Blackline X115 subwoofer which Zoodio owner, Dylan Hilton says offers tremendous output from a compact speaker. CDD6s have been added as infill for the rest of the dining area and the smoking zone.

Like all the Woodside Inn operations, the Bandra outlet specialises in craft beers and inventive cuisine in the true gastropub tradition. And since it is an all-day operation, they wanted ambient music to be broadcast during the day, with a livelier night time trade—playing retro, old-school rock and pop to crowds of up to 150. Provision has been made with BlacklineX for a small band to perform, and it will also be a perfect match for the DJ nights they plan to have in the future.

Setting out the reason for choosing BlacklineX as his preferred PA, Dylan states, “Since we have previously worked with Blackline X10s we were confident that this would again be a viable option. For the bottom end, we made use of a Blackline X115, as portability was the driving factor, and the owners didn’t want to sacrifice any space.

THE SYSTEM JUST SOUNDS AMAZING.

“In the seating area,” he continued, “our primary focus was for vocal clarity, even at lower volume levels, while still managing to capture the evening vibe. CDDs seemed to be the best option for this.”

As for the source feed, a digital jukebox plays throughout the day.

Since setting up in 2007, Woodside Inn Restaurant, Mumbai has become a leading player in the city’s gastropub restaurant sector.

Zoodio were first approached by Neighbourhood Hospitality—owners of the Woodside Inn bar / diner—back in 2011. “They needed a new sound system for their outlet in Andheri, and we recommended Martin Audio’s AQ8’s,” continues Dylan.

“The response they received from the crowd back then, and the reliability the system provided, then helped us win more of their projects. We upgraded the system in another project at Woodside Inn Colaba, Mumbai, as well as the new Woodside Inn in Lower Parel. Martin Audio became the ‘go to’ brand for them.”

The Bandra unit now continues the proud tradition. Having now installed the Upper Level with Martin Audio, Zoodio are working on getting the lower level upgraded to the same brand.

Suffice it to say, the client is more than satisfied with the result. According to general manager, Dolphy Sequeira, “The system just sounds amazing, and we are really happy with the vocal clarity and the confidence the providers have given in terms of reliability.” He also added that guests have been enquiring about the speaker brand.

“The brand has helped us secure a highly positive response in all our places—right from the initial project at Andheri, Mumbai.”

They are now keen to standardise on Martin Audio as their exclusive loudspeaker brand.

Stay High Agency, the Polish-based promoters and producers of a popular series of near legendary Roof Party events (which take place on the roofs of hotels and malls in their native city of Krakow) have taken delivery of a state-of-the-art Martin Audio Wavefront Precision WPS. The decision was made after Phono Media, Martin Audio’s Polish distributor, set up a demo.

The distributor confirms that the customer had already been “heavily oriented towards Martin Audio”. They add that “Stay High Agency started their adventure with Martin Audio solutions with CDD-LIVE before moving up to their first large-scale system. They first used this system on the Roof Party cycle.

The Agency purchased ten of the compact WPS enclosures, along with six SXC118 subwoofers, to be powered by three high-powered iK81 8-channel Class D amplifiers.

In addition they also ordered six of the Blackline XP12powered speakers, along with a pair of Blackline XP118subs, as well as a pair of CCD-LIVE 12 and SXP118 subwoofers.

The Agency’s new inventory of Martin Audio kit allows them to make a single large concert configuration for demanding clubbing events but also gives them the possibility of splitting the entire system into smaller configurations that can play simultaneously in different locations.

During the biggest of these events, the powered BlacklineX and CDD-LIVE can be used either as an additional zonal sound systems, or on the stage as a sidefills or wedges.

In addition to their Roof Parties, Stay High Agency also organises events under the ‘This Place’ banner, in such places as the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow, The Juliusz Sowacki Theater in the same city and legendary, historical Forum Hotel. They are also founders and operators of the unique concert and clubbing space Nowa Rezydencja (New Residence), who also chose sound solutions from Martin Audio.

Burn The Floor is a fast moving, high-intensity live dance show, which since its formation in 1997 (for Elton John’s birthday party) has performed in over 130 countries worldwide.

Martin Audio partner dBS Solutions first provided sound system support for their 2019 UK tour (with a W8LM line array) but when producers Strictly Theatre Company re-engaged dBS for the 2022 tour, they upgraded to their latest acquisition—Wavefront Precision WPS optimised line array, with scalable resolution—which was accoladed with the Queen’s Award for Innovation.

dBS Solutions MD Chris Bogg says that having previously provided sound reinforcement for the Kevin & Karen tour, featuring Strictly dancers Kevin Clifton and Karen Hauer, this has become a genre in which they have found themselves specialising. “Burn The Floor is loud, high energy rock music … a combination of live band, vocalists and music to track,” he explains.

The latest iteration—featuring a cast of up to 15 (including Kevin Clifton) has been touring UK theatres with up to 20 (2 x 10) WPS enclosures, four DD6 for front fills and four WS218X subs in L/R stacks, while in the stalls four XD15 fill any coverage gaps as necessary. The system is driven in 1-box resolution from iKON iK81 amplifiers, providing the highest level of control for coverage and consistency, with an iK42 assigned to the subs.

“I COULDN’T BE HAPPIER; WPS IS OUTSTANDING, AND I WILL HAPPILY SPEC THIS SYSTEM FOR FUTURE SHOWS.”

Chris Bogg, who designed the system in conjunction with FOH sound engineer Joe Baker, confirmed that the producers have been hugely impressed with the sound system, particularly the evenness of coverage across venues’ entire seating area. “This became more evident at the two venues so far where we have had to play through house systems, and they have immediately noticed a huge difference.”

Joe Baker who shares duties with system/stage engineer James Malcolm, was equally effusive in his praise for the system. “WPS is perfect for the show, and we have received only compliments for the audio quality. The consistent coverage from the very front seat to the very back makes my life as an engineer extremely easy. Knowing every seat is getting the same experience means I can focus on mixing the show.”

Whatever configuration he applies, he is confident the mix that comes out will be 100% accurate. “I know when I open up the system for soundcheck I have very little or no changes to make. There is no compromise with power and tone.

“From design to rigging to soundcheck to show the consistency and intuitive workflow of DISPLAY 2 optimisation software and VU-NET control software and the physical array in the space is something I have never come across before. The results I get in DISPLAY 2 transfer perfectly into the physical environment without any need for adjustment or compromise, while loading the array preset is extremely easy.”

He goes on to say, “Drawing a slice of a venue couldn’t be simpler, and having the option of Survey mode makes the difficult venues easy to map out.This allows me to be extremely precise with what area I want covering and with the Hard Avoid feature this has come into its own with the acoustically challenging venues. The EQ optimisation tool is also truly amazing.”

In summary he says, “I couldn’t be happier; WPS is outstanding, and I will happily spec this system for future shows” … while colleague James Malcolm simply describes WPS as sounding “absolutely stonking.”

Photography by Filiz Moore.