Quality is key when it comes to sound, and operators now have more technology to choose from than ever before. Caroline Parry lends an ear to the sounds of the future
It was not so long ago that music at a leisure venue meant a tape played on a dodgy stereo. But today's operators have realised their customers are a discerning lot when it comes to sound quality and equipment.
Sound industry designers and installers say customers have become more demanding after the introduction of compact disc hi-fi systems for the home and the use of surround sound in cinemas. The average ear has become used to high quality sound and expects similar quality from venues offering musical entertainment.
"If you go to a club and the sound system is bad you'll walk out," says Brian McMurray, technical manager at the Area nightclub in Watford which features Britain's first surround sound system for nightclubs (see box above right). "People want quality and it's because of what they have in their homes."
For Chris Ewington, head of sound system designer and installer Fern Audio, the designer of Area's surround sound system which has now been installed in seven leisure venues, the future for the nightclub system is three dimensional sound.
"You win be able to position speakers in such a way you will be able to direct the sound. Different parts of the music win be coming from behind different people," he says. "Where this is already working like at the Music Box in Manchester (Fern Audio's test club), I have seen people following the music around the, room."
For Tim Harnden, director at sound equipment designer, manufacturer and installer Thunder Ridge which designed and installed the high powered MX6000 sound system for London nightclub The End in February, the best recent advancement is digital signal processing which improves the sonic quality of the sound and not the equipment. He cites BSS Omnidrive, a loudspeaker management system, as a prime example.
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