Providing space for poetry and literature recitals in London’s Covent Garden, the Poetry Café has recently completed a refurbishment to satisfy the diverse requirements of music, community groups, interdisciplinary arts and crafts.
The Poetry Café is run by the Poetry Society – now more than a century old and described as ‘the heart and hands of poetry in the UK’. The venue caters for all ages and demographics, attracting both independent and corporate groups by day and night. The refurbishment – which included replacing an ageing A/V system – saw systems integrator Flipside tasked with delivering a high quality and versatile system within a limited budget. ‘After finishing a modern but cosy refurbishment, we were without any sound,’ says manager Olissa Francisco. ‘The equipment we had been using was clumsy, difficult, unreliable and very unattractive to our corporate users
‘Our task was to provide maximum utility and quality, but without a huge price tag,’ continues Flipside MD, James Cooper. ‘The space has a clean aesthetic and is a blank canvas for exhibitions and events, yet still has a quirky character and warmth. Above all, usability was key. Not only would the system need to be operated by staff throughout the day, but outside organisations and individuals hiring the space also had to be able to use it without a ‘crash course’ in its operation.’
After considering its options, Flipside chose a Yamaha system, comprising four white VXS3F low-profile speakers for the upstairs café space, with four white VXS5 for the downstairs events space and gallery. MA2030a and MA2120 mixing amplifiers power the system, managed by a surface-mount DCP1V4S controller in each area.
‘The Yamaha system exceeded all of the venue’s requirements for a really reasonable unit cost,’ Cooper says. ‘The VXS5s sound great and are compact enough to be unobtrusive, while the tiny VXS3Fs look perfect on the whitewashed brick walls of the upstairs café.
‘The MA amplifiers provide all the inputs needed for a pre-set system configuration, allowing any event to be hosted without the need for separate mixers or additional equipment. The user can easily select from various room modes and the inputs are automatically selected. In addition, using the DCP wall panels means that neither the staff nor clients ever need to access the equipment rack.’
‘Flipside delivered what was promised, within budget and I’m really pleased with the high quality equipment that is easy to use, works really well and is easy to manage,’ Francisco reports. ‘I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and end result.’
More: www.yamahaproaudio.com
