Since opening in 1988, Palace Bar and Restaurant has built its reputation on exuberant drag brunches, live entertainment and a welcoming atmosphere for anyone wanting to party. Located at the heart of Ocean Drive to the south of the Miami Beach neighborhood, Palace recently completed a massive overhaul of its sound system to add power and clarity to its audio offering and enhance the experience of its guests – with an estimated 1,500 passing through the doors every weekend. 

Across the venue’s multiple zones, a range of 14 Powersoft X4, Duecanali and Quattrocanali amplifiers were specified by Miami-based Infinite Audio Systems, a full service design and build, audio and lighting contracting company, in addition to Infinite’s own loudspeaker solutions. 

Palace Bar’s audio rack equipped only with Powersoft amplifiers

With music serving as its lifeblood, the owner of Palace, Tom Donall, was keen to improve on the previous audio equipment with a sound system that would be capable of conveying the energy of the shows held at the venue. “Being one of the most well-known gay restaurant bars in the world and putting on a famous drag show, the clarity of the sound and the bass needs to be impactful, and evenly distributed,” explained Donall, who has over 20 years experience of running entertainment venues, and understands the importance of sound in venues. “When the girls perform, they lip-sync, and we need the best sound to give the punch and clarity, and to bring this energy that we’re known for at Palace,” continued Donall. “This is why having high-quality audio was crucial for us – it sets the stage for the festive energy customers find here, making sure each visit is a special experience.” 

The venue features four different audio zones – its café area, main indoor dance floor, the roof top and the downstairs outside patio area on Ocean Drive. Donall called upon Infinite Audio Systems to discuss the audio overhaul and collaborated closely with its CEO, Lord Toussaint, highlighting the need to cover all areas of the venue so that each customer – and performer – can hear clear, high-quality sound, wherever they are. “We needed a system which is tailored to the requirements of each of the venue’s areas,” said Donall, highlighting that it was of utmost importance to ensure the outside areas could withstand the natural elements, especially the salt from the ocean water, and that the audio system would be able to run the live show seven days a week, twice a day, while maintaining pristine sound quality. 

Venue Requirements Donall and Toussaint designed the sound system together and went through the requirements of each area individually. “Tom wanted warmth, clarity, and fuller tonality, and sometimes those don’t go hand in hand. But we were able to give him the lot,” stated Toussaint. “It’s a complex scenario because there is a live show performed on the terrasse at the front of the building that bleeds out onto the sidewalk and the streets,” he adds. “It’s a very high-energy show that uses a lot of live microphones and house  music tracks, and it needs to work on the people, but then it also needs to be distributed across various areas throughout the venue.” 

Palace Bar’s main entrance with Infinite Audio’s new CDX-15V Horizontal Speakers

The main sonic challenge was to equally cover and synchronise all areas during the live shows – knowing that the areas are vastly different. To overcome this, Toussaint deployed speaker systems individually for each area, as if they were standalone systems, and then united them as one, using a Biamp Tesira Server I-O for DSP. The venue’s new audio setup consists of 50 Infinite System speakers in the lower level, powered by 10 Powersoft amplifiers, and 12 speakers on the roof top, also driven by Powersoft. “The whole system is amazing,” says Donall. “The punch, the power and the clarity are what I wanted. It runs perfectly every day, and we don’t have to worry about it.” “We also have top level DJs performing here, and for us it’s easy to adjust everything to facilitate that,” continued Donall. “We have an on/ off switch for the areas we don’t use all the time, and can also control the microphone volume levels.” 

Interior Dance Floor At the main stage and interior dance floor, Donall and Toussaint specified two INFINITE CDX 15V loudspeakers, a 3-way speaker system with Dual 15-in transducers and a coaxial mid-high range, both neodymium magnetic on a medium format horn, and INFINITE VLF215 HPX ND WP subwoofers, which are also dual 15-in extended response 4.5- voice coil transducers, powered by two Powersoft X4 four-channel amplifiers. “I think without Powersoft X4s we couldn’t get what we wanted out of our 115 VLFs,” said Toussaint. “There’s no room for 18-in speakers with very low frequency here, so we did it with our extended response 15-in systems, and they were up to the task because of how they’re driven.” 

Main bar at nightime

“Our lowest speaker load is a 4-ohm load, but these amplifiers do everything well as it’s all optimized, and we think it’s as important as our loudspeakers to build systems using Powersoft amplification.” Toussaint has been first introduced to Powersoft in the early 2000s, but was initially skeptical about their small form factor and the power they promised to deliver. “For me that was always terrifying,” he said. “I was used to amplifiers that weighed 145 lbs and were 20-in deep, so I had a hard time believing that in that that form factor that Powersoft would provide great output power in a one-space chassis… but I’m a believer now. “I’ve now grown accustomed to the form factor of Powersoft amplifiers, and I’m using less rack space, producing less heat, and powering all these amplifiers at 240V in our installations, and we think that makes them even better,” continued Toussaint. “Nothing that we’ve ever brought to our installations has ever been as robust and as reliable as Powersoft’s amplifiers,” he added. “This is why, for us, it’s a win across the board. Sound quality, reliability, effectiveness, and rack space efficiency – it all works together.” 

All other areas of the venue are covered by the INFINITE ND216 HP WP loudspeakers, with INFINITE VLF115 HPX ND offering low frequency support, with Toussaint utilizing Powersoft’s Armonia+ for all speaker specific processing. “I found Armonia+ very intuitive and easy to operate and we’re very pleased with the quality,” he continued. “Using it you can identify the  amplifiers on the network, select them and operate them. It’s a tool we’re going to be using more and more of for signal processing. “Powersoft, for us, represents a mission critical amplifier platform,” concluded Toussaint. “If you are operating around the clock, I can not think of another line that can serve those needs like Powersoft can, and I wouldn’t consider anything else at this point, because all of our work is mission critical.” 

Donell is also delighted with the end result, saying that Infinite speakers paired with Powersoft exceeded his expectations. “It’s fantastic,” said the venue owner. “Seeing people leave with smiles on their face, already planning their next visit, is what it’s all about for me. And the sound really ties the experience all together.” Toussaint and Donall are currently planning to upgrade Palace’s lighting and video systems in the very near future.

 TECHNICAL INFORMATION AUDIO 

2 x Powersoft 1604 Duecanali 

2 x Powersoft 2404 Duecanali 

3 x Powersoft 4804 Duecanali 

4 x Powersoft 4804 Quattrocanali 

2 x Powersoft X4 

www.goinfinite.com 

www.powersoft.com

The post Sound Reinforcement System Installation at the Palace Bar, Miami Beach first appeared on Infinite Audio Systems.

     With 49 years in the business, INFINITE was tasked with executing the project and completing it in less than 14 days. The INFINITE SYSTEMS team of seasoned industry veterans has completed operations in 13 U.S. states, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Asia and Europe. Designing and integrating, robust, reliable and impressive Audio and Lighting systems for Nightlife and Hospitality is what we do, from Ibiza to Ecuador, from Tokyo to New York City. 

      The Raspoutine Audio system replacement upgrade was comprised of several different INFINITE speaker models from the NFM215 HP V2, 15” 2-way, combined with the VLF1 HPX ND dual 18” Very Low Frequency systems as the Dance Floor Core. All Dance Core perimeter coverage was assigned to the wildly popular ND216 HP V4, dual 6.5” full range slim line enclosures that are able to provide unprecedented clarity and sound pressure from a speaker that can easily integrate into low ceiling architectural environments, whilst providing an impressive big box output. These were combined with the latest VLF115 HPX ND extended response Very Low Frequency systems. The low ceiling Shot Bar was covered by the tiny INFINITE 3DX Mighty, which features a very wide coverage splay of dual 3” full range transducers. 

       INFINITE specified all Powersoft amplification, from the Concert Touring X4 for Very Low Frequency systems to the T Series 604 Touring for the Core and Quatrocanali and Ottocanali for distributed systems. All signal processing was easily handled by a Biamp Systems Tesira Server I-O Digital Signal Processor chassis. 

      Entertainment Lighting was handled entirely in the Cameo product line with the amazingly reliable and impressive AuroSpot Z300 Moving Head Spot fixtures on custom mounts and the over-the-top Cameo Zenit 600 Wash Light as a multi-purpose, strobe, bang and wash fixtures all in one at the booth stage Frontal.

View of DJ Monitors mounted to the low booth ceiling and Cameo’s AuroSpot Z300 Moving Heads in this view.

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The challenging acoustical and architectural characteristics inside a traditional church make it more challenging to deliver an intelligible vocal quality with improved clarity and enough sound pressure level for all parishioners regardless of where they are seated. The acoustic reflections that are the result of the large room volume and hard boundary surfaces will make the spoken word difficult to understand and fail to deliver the all-important spiritual message.

That’s why The Church of Gesu chose Infinite Audio Systems to deliver a Complete Sound Reinforcement system solution for this historic landmark church located in Downtown, Miami. Only our 49 years of experience allowed us to place the new speakers in the best position inside the church to provide the desired result. The characteristics of the INFINITE ND216 HP

V4 Compact Full Range Speaker systems, resulted in superior clarity, better presence and significantly more efficient performance in delivering the word of God to this congregation. Infinite’s team hand-picked the best combination of Sennheiser microphones, wireless microphone receivers, INFINITE speaker systems, amplification and Biamp Systems Nexia digital signal processing to accomplish this challenging task in this church sound application.

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For the last 7 years, Gulfstream Park has hosted the 3 million guests at the Pegasus World Cup Invitational. The main Pegasus race is one of the biggest-paying races in North America. The $3 million Pegasus purse is equal to the one offered last year at the Kentucky Derby. A national leader, like Gulfstream Park, chose Infinite Audio Systems to design a state-of-the-art audio and control system using the flagship Server Class processing from Biamp Systems, the Tesira Server I-O AVB. AVB stands for Audio Video Bridging which provides improved synchronization, low-latency, and reliability for complex audio and video networks operating on large campus environments.

The latest addition to Gulfstream Park in Hallandale FL is the Carousel Club, which was inaugurated last year for the Pegasus Cup in January. The key to create a great sounding venue was Networked Audio and Control distribution, linking this new venue to the original INFINITE AUDIO SYSTEMS installation completed 4 years ago. Infinite Audio’s most popular compact speaker system, the ND216 HP V4 WP (Weather Protected) and the VLF115 WP Very Low-Frequency speaker systems were combined to provide a robust full range system with realistic low frequency extension, un-matched by the typical plastic speakers on the market today.

Having (6) Rack Sites, relying on Tesira Server Class processors on a robust ABV network, allows the park to control which sound source or input to play in the park and were. A DJ can be playing at the Carrousel Club and be heard at any Clubhouse venue, or Race Call can be heard anywhere in the park, ducking music programs at will. This level of sophistication is derived from Infinite’s vast experience in Audio Systems Design, Signal Processing Programming all over the world. Our sophisticated, purpose-built Weather Protected speaker systems are made at our Miami facilities, with the finest European components. We never use plastic or fiberglass to construct hollow, tubby sounding speaker enclosures. Only high density, water, vermin and termite resistant natural wood composite organic board is used, making our speakers sound natural and solid.

If you are an institution with the need for a robust networked audio system solution with superior sound quality and an integrator with experience that delivers reliable and timely results, then INFINITE AUDIO SYSTEMS is here to help, from Design Consulting through integration, training and mission critical support after project commissioning.

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To understand this more clearly, you have to wonder why line arrays were created in the first place and why they are now the standard speaker system format used in Touring, Rental and Production markets and how these applications are different from nightclubs. The driving factor behind line arrays, is a more cohesive acoustic alignment of several speakers unified to perform together as a whole, while at the same time providing a very significant labor savings to the rental or production company in their quest for fast set up and take down. What used to be cumbersome and heavy speaker systems that were difficult to move and align, has been put through a “potato slicer” and cut into smaller pieces like French fries, so it is a fraction of the weight and bulk and easier to suspend and “stack” into proper alignment for a unified wave front. This makes life a lot easier for the rental and production companies to set up and use, saving them time and labor with better results. Line Arrays have become Audio Fashion in the rental and production world and for good reason.

If you own and operate a nightclub, here is where it starts to get tricky. The unification of small to medium format line array systems based on 6” to 8” low-frequency transducers in either single or dual configurations per box and all depend on arraying a minimum number of modules to achieve the coupling requirements to be effective in low-mid frequency output. Smaller speakers like 6”, 8” or even 10” low frequency speakers can actually have output similar to that of larger 15” units when added together in quantities and unified. For most compact line array manufacturers, the minimum module is (4) boxes working together as one. This makes sense when you consider the typical VERTICAL COVERGE ANGLE is from 12° to 15° for each of these compact systems. So, using (4) together would provide from 48° to 60° of vertical coverage, which happens to be similar to the typical 45° vertical coverage pattern of any industry standard 2-way single or dual 12” or 15” speaker system traditionally used in nightclub installations for decades. In order to match this basic 45° vertical pattern requirement and low- mid impact of dual 12” or 15” woofers, a minimum of four (4) compact line array boxes would be needed. This is where the issues begin to very negatively impact nightclub sound. Arraying (4) of these boxes also means adding 4, 8 or even 12 High Frequency drivers that are contained as 1,2 or even 3 in EACH line array elements by design. This works very well for a rental or production company when covering an outdoor event or other large space where they need to have an authoritative presentation with overwhelming clarity to get the job done quickly with compact speakers used in short term event.

These are the most compelling reasons NOT to use line array in a nightclub. The low-mid frequency band pass is where a great amount of the system’s perceived “warmth” is heard. With line arrays, the redundant high-frequency drivers in these systems produce much more high-frequency energy than typically needed in all but the most arena like venues. It becomes very difficult to maintain a warm spectral balance with these systems by their very nature. To make matters worse, the “end result” after price reductions demanded by owners, often end up with their vendors offering only 2-3 small format line array boxes, below the minimum modulus recommended by line array manufacturers. When this happens, and it happens in most cases we have seen, it becomes nearly impossible to balance these systems into any degree of warmth from low-mid frequency energy, making for a bright and metallic sound that fatigues listeners into shorter stays and less revenue for operators. Having (4) 8” woofers in compact enclosures, is not like having one or two 15” woofers in full size full range enclosures. We like to say that an 8” woofer is just that, an 8” woofer, no matter who makes it, the warmth and impact of a 15” transducer will NOT be replaced by a few 8” woofers in compact line array boxes deployed in less than the minimum module recommended by their manufacturers. Unfortunately, very few sound vendors really understand or care about this condition as much as they care more about making a fashionable cool line array sale.

Nightclubs do NOT share rental or production audio requirements. They are liquor revenue dependent spaces with very different needs that are very often misunderstood by inexperienced sound designers, vendors and even DJ’s and their tour managers in some cases. Nightclubs are not festivals or events, their needs revolve around the sale of alcohol and the duration of guest stays to maximize revenue. The brash and metallic sound that fatigues listeners when line arrays are miss-applied has a price that is paid in sales
and revenue loss for the duration of the business. That’s a big price to pay so your sound guy can be fashionable. INFINITE is not in the rental or production speaker business. We make speaker systems for permanent installation in Nightlife and Hospitality. Our product is optimized and purpose built for these applications. Our product is heavy and bulky and not easily transportable, and we are just fine with that. Our speakers are designed to sound hearty, heavy and warm like successful nightclub are supposed to sound. There are no handles, wheels or cover latches on our speakers; they are made to be INSTALLED not truck packed. We don’t sacrifice Low-Mid Frequency extension for compactness. We couldn’t care less about size and weight. How often do you move a nightclub sound system once installed? Here are (2) of our INFINITE Large Format Big Club boxes that represent our approach to Nightclub Sound done right.

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