Close to Hong Kong and Macau, Zhongshan enjoys a thriving tourist economy and entertainment scene, with the 0760 Plus nightclub now its centre.
‘When we renovated 0760 club in 2016, we selected TR Audio to take care of the A/V installation,’ recalls Hong Libo, one of the club’s founders. ‘We were impressed by the service on that project, so they were an obvious contender when we were seeking to fit 0760 Plus. TR Audio General Manager, Huang Zhao, brings a decade of nightclub experience to the table, so while it is a relatively new company, it has the right know-how. I also experienced great service and aftercare from owner Ben Huang, who was very hands-on with the project.’
The venue is an extension of the 0760 nightclub chain, named after Zhongshan’s dialling code, and one of the largest clubs in the vicinity.
TR Audio was appointed in March 2017 as one of two Chinese distributors for APG, serving the entertainment and fixed installation markets: ‘I have worked with APG products for a long time, and as a well-established French brand that has invested decades of research and development into optimising the technology in its products, it is making big in-roads internationally,’ Huang says. ‘APG speakers deliver a sound that is true and natural, and indeed the performance across its whole spectrum of products is very good. In my opinion, its products are as good as any first-tier speaker brand in the world.’
Despite the existing relationship with TR Audio, Hong undertook extensive research into different audio options but returned to Huang’s outfit and APG. ‘The sound had to be powerful and punchy as well as clean, to reproduce the difference layers in electronic dance. With the interior of the venue more than 11m high and with some structural challenges such as pillars to address, we needed a supplier we could trust to deliver smooth and consistent sound coverage. It took us eight months to finalise the design but I believe it is a truly unique set-up in this market.’
The transformation from car garage to luxury nightclub required an investment of RMB380m. Spanning two floors, it is the 800sq-m first floor that is equipped with APG’s audio system. Once again, Huang, played a direct role in the installation process, working alongside APG’s representative in Hong Kong, Dominic Cho of ArcSource, to detail a line array set-up. ‘Hong wanted a high=spec design and a layout that wouldn’t interfere with the lighting and visuals. Line arrays are a modern solution for club applications, and APG has products ideally suited to this,’ he says.
APG’s Uniline speaker range was selected for the main PA situated to the left and right of the stage 3.3m off the ground. Six APG UL210 cabinets, four APG UL210D cabinets and four APG UL115B bass cabinets are divided between the two arrays. The UL210s deliver the long throw element of the line array, with the UL201D providing the mid throw and the UL115B’s the low end. Configurable in a number of ways depending on the elements used, at 0760 Plus they are in extended mode – best for high-energy music applications such as a nightclub environment. Offering maximum versatility and scalability in order to cover the whole field of applications of line array systems under one roof, the speakers boast an impressive power to size ratio, alongside horizontal directivity – meaning they are unobtrusive and make no compromise on sound quality.
APG’s Isotop technology generates an increasing vertical directivity index sound field in the mid-high range. To add further low-frequency response, Ben specified nine APG TB218S and 10 APG SB118 subwoofers, positioned across the dancefloor. 15 APG DX15 coaxial loudspeakers, providing extended bandwidth, high precision and ultra-low distortion, cover the horseshoe-shaped VIP area spanning the first and second floors. Four APG DMS48 processors, five APG SA20:2 and ten APG SA30:2 power amplifiers drive the system. On deciding to use a full suite of APG products, Hong says: ‘I think it’s better to have only one brand providing the end-to-end solution because then you gain maximum efficiency, with the products having been designed and optimised to work in harmony together.’
There needed to be flexibility within the sound system to cope with not only DJ sets, but also live bands and shows. It also had to provide even coverage throughout the entire venue and ensure that everyone enjoys the same quality of experience. The APG set up achieved this while mitigating the challenges of the architecture and ensuring the placement was aesthetically pleasing and didn’t impinge on the overall design of the space.
A further consideration was the proximity of the club to its residential neighbours. Avoiding noise disturbance was of key importance and Hong invested heavily in architectural acoustics so that the necessarily high SPL could be maintained. Sound isolation and acoustic diffusion plates were also installed in the main room to avoid a build-up of sound caused by irregular surfaces in the décor; glass, mirrors and stainless steel were not used at all in the club to avoid sound reflections. Every care was taken to minimise acoustical challenges and thus preserve the all-important quality of the sound.
Huang of TR Audio concludes: ‘0760 Plus was our most significant APG installation to date and to say it has been a success is an understatement. Designing an entire system with APG’s products meant we could achieve perfect synergy and balance in the set up, and the sound really speaks for itself.’
‘The partnership with TR Audio was a strategic move to help us grow the APG brand in the entertainment sector, particularly on the club scene, and give us better overall coverage in China,’ Raymond Wong, MD of APG North East Asia, adds. ‘This project at 0760 Plus is a fine example of how our exceptional products can be deployed in the entertainment sector. Setting a new standard in audio for this kind of environment, we have ambitious plans for this market in China and look forward to delivering against more exciting projects in the pipeline.’
More: www. apg.audio
