Kent’s newest sports and entertainment destination, Matches Sports Bar, Grill & Social, with Powersoft’s Dynamic Music Distribution (DMD) system playing a key part in its sound management.
Installed by MADE Worldwide, two Mezzo 604 four-channel, 600W amplifiers and a Powersoft WM Touch screen control of the DMD system, including Mezzo’s embedded dynamic routing capabilities. ‘Using Powersoft’s Dynamic Music Distribution solution, we were able to keep our design simple all the way through, from designing the project to handing it over to the client,’ explains MADE MD, Ashley Bond. ‘The client is then left with a powerful start-to-finish solution from a single industry leading manufacturer, providing with a safe and secure audio system that’s really going to push through.’
Situated at Elwick Place in Ashford, around 95km south of London, the venue offers food and drink, live sports and evening entertainment, and is proving popular with both locals and Eurostar passengers.
Owner Jon Shephard says that the concept for the venue is to combine ‘all the best bits of the bars I’ve been to throughout my life, all into one place’ forthe ‘ultimate sports bar experience’.
With a single Mezzo amplifier able to drive up to four independent zones of audio thanks to new ArmoníaPlus 2.2 software, the DMD ecosystem provides a ‘tailored sound experience in each individual area.
‘We have three semi-private self-pour beer areas,’ Shephard explains. ‘In those areas, while customers want to be able to hear the experience, the volume still allows them to have a conversation with others across the table. We also have other semi-private areas, such as the snug and the private room, where customers are all-encapsulated in high-quality, 3D surround sound.
‘In the main bar area, we wanted a system where customers could feel they’re in the stadium watching the match live. However, once that match is finished and we turn the [TV] sound off, we want to get the music pumping. And believe me, if you come here on a Friday and Saturday night, you’ll definitely experience that.’
UK distributor, CUK Audio, supplied the Mezzos and WM Touch, as well as the Audac loudspeakers – Ateo wall-mounted speakers, CIRA ceiling speakers, and BASO10 and NOBA8 subwoofers – for the project.
‘DMD was key here because it provides a cost-effective and stylish way of routing audio around venues like this,’ says A/V Channel Manager, Steve Barton. ‘Here, we need small amounts of power going to smaller zones, like the toilets or corridors, and a large amount of power in the bar area. The Powersoft amps have up to four channels running 600W with full Power Sharing across all the channels. The key here is that they can do low impedance and a 100V line on the same amplifier in a half-rack space – so you can fit a lot of processing power in a tiny space.’
‘Because the Mezzos are so small in the rack, we were able to fit three satellite boxes, and an aux input, so we could come in and throw [sound] around in different zones and make it easy for the client to use,’ adds Bond.
‘Dynamic Music Distribution is very easy to justify to integration partners and end-users because it offers supreme flexibility while being really cost effective,’ continues Barton.. ‘When you look, in terms of money and size, how much power, processing capabilities and content you’re getting out of it, it’s a no-brainer.’
‘The WM Touch system is super user-friendly – we have a control panel behind the bar, which any of our staff can log on to and be able to change the audio in a couple of clicks,’ Shephard reports. ‘Plus, the training [from MADE] took a minimal amount of time – no more than half an hour – because it’s so simple to use.’
The MADE team is already specifying an almost identical system for several upcoming projects. ‘That’s off the back of how strongly it’s performed at Matches,’ Bond says. ‘It’s definitely become our go-to solution for hospitality projects – so much so that we even hold stock of it just to have it when we need it.’
