Zone 8P audio controller reduces staff stress and saves energy.
Hotel & Wirtshaus Hansen in Bergisch Gladbach, near Cologne, recently invested in an update on its sound system. Owner Andrea Hansen was happy with his existing ten-year-old Martin Audio loudspeakers but felt that the control system had become out of date:
“Our staff regularly struggled with which button was responsible for which level in which room – consequently the sound system needed a reset once or twice a week.”
The daily pressures upon hospitality staff are always challenging and the last thing anyone wants to worry about is a complicated sound system. That’s where Optimal Audio comes to the rescue. The requirements for better control aligned with the benefits of Optimal Audio’s Zone processor and ZonePad.
Zone 8P is a zonal audio controller with DSP providing everything required in a single compact unit to become the beating heart of an efficient, high-quality multi-zoned commercial sound system and features 4 line and 2 mic inputs plus 2 HDMI inputs for TV and video sound.
It has integrated amplification making installation straightforward and cost-effective and allows the user to independently allocate sources across eight configurable zones, such as a lobby, bar or restaurant. Each zone can be configured to do precisely what is required using the intuitive WebApp including EQs, speaker presets, structured time of day routines and so much more.
The integrated eight-channel amplifier in Zone 8P provide 100 watts per channel and eliminate the need for separate amplifiers for most small to medium applications.
Once configured the sound system can be controlled by staff using any device such as a smartphone, but in this case the system was also supplemented by ZonePad 4. ZonePad 4 is an elegant wall mounted controller, providing users clear and simple access to the essential controls of up to four zones. It gives all users the confidence and access they need to operate the system and features a clean, slick intuitive touch interface, enabling selection, volume control of playback sources and microphones to be easily controlled across the zones of audio from one position.
The solution retained existing Martin Audio speakers in several rooms and added a number of Martin Audio ADORN series speakers to some outdoor areas to create a pleasant background music atmosphere.
Andreas Hansen continues:
“We can now control everything with either mobile devices or the ZonePad. If a customer is uncomfortable with the sound level in any given area, a member of staff can directly change it from his or her mobile device. The system is then able to reset itself so it’s always in the right configuration when doors open in the morning for the first breakfast guests.”
Both new and existing Martin Audio speakers were easily added to the loudspeaker presets, and an obvious advantage of the Optimal Audio solution was the significant reduction of power consumption by the removal of two amplifiers, separate analogue zone mixers, converter, all of which were replaced by the single Zone 8P unit.
