B/SPOKE

When ITI Systems installed a sound system at the new B/SPOKE Studio in South Boston, MA recently, it was its fourth such integration for founder Mark Partin’s cycling concept – and all four feature Martin Audio CDDs and subwoofers.

The Beltsville, MD based integrators originally came onto Partin’s radar after he visited a club in New York that they had fitted out and was impressed with the sound quality. He knew what he wanted when it came to equipping his new boutique fitness studio concept, specialising in Indoor Cycling, Strength, and Yoga classes.

System Designer and Project Manager, Eugene Yi specified a combination of Martin Audio mission critical solutions, focusing mainly on the hugely popular CDD series, in a fast-moving concept that continues to evolve. “Mark Partin wanted a high-quality, clean yet loud PA,” he explained.

The price to performance ratio offered by CDD ticks all the boxes, he said. As a result, he selected a blend of CDD12, CDD8, and CDD6, underpinned by SX218, SX118 subwoofers. To this he added ceiling and ADORN speakers from the British manufacturer’s catalogue.

B/SPOKE Studio South Boston operates on 8,000 sq ft over two floors and boasts 56 bikes and 26 mats for classes, with a personal training area. In terms of audio feeds, both the yoga / strength and cycling rooms broadcast audio via instructor laptops with separate mic feeds for the instructors.

Mark Partin had nothing but praise for the installation’s audio component. “Music is a big part of our programme and brand identity, and we believe the quality of playback can completely change the client experience, leading to better retention over time,” he said. “Martin Audio’s CDD speaker line provides the perfect balance of performance at an attainable cost for small businesses like our own. We now use them in all our studios, in all workout rooms and common area spaces. www.martin-audio.com

COMPANY: ADJ

LOCATION: New York, USA

ADJ in New York. The primary fixture utilised for the project was ADJ’s flagship Focus Series moving head spot luminaire, the Focus Spot 6Z. Ten of these fixtures were installed, spread across the five rigging bars positioned around the circular atrium.

The central atrium of the new Tangram Mall in Queens, New York has been equipped with a lighting system comprised of ADJ Focus Sport 6Z moving heads and Vizi Wash Z37 wash units, specified by Canal Sound & Light and installed by AV Pros NY.

Canal Sound and Light’s owner, Jeffrey Kwan, received technical support from Jonathan Schwille of Healy Sales, which represents

To augment the pattern projections of the Focus Spot 6Zs, Canal also supplied seven of ADJ’s Vizi Wash Z37 dedicated wash fixtures. The system is controlled using the ONYX platform from ADJ’s sister company Obsidian Control Systems. A touchscreen PC running ONYX software, paired with an ONXY NXWing control interface, is kept in a utility room on the mezzanine floor. From here the mall’s management can easily choose from a selection of programmed shows that have been created by Canal’s Uriel ‘Chicken’ Coria. www.adj.com

COMPANY: LD Systems

LOCATION: Surat, India

With a gym, trampoline park, bowling, as well as indoor and outdoor dining on offer, the BB (Black Bunny) Club in the West Indian city of Surat is a hub for fitness and entertainment. Keen to create a space with an appearance and sound quality to match its gastronomy and entertainment offering, the venue’s operator engaged supplier and integrator Evenflow Eternal to come up with an elegant audio solution. “The management placed great importance on a consistent sound experience throughout the building, without compromising on transparency and efficiency,” described Evenflow Eternal Owner, Ankit Vadodariya. “They also wanted the speakers to integrate perfectly with the interior of each room.”

The company specified a mix of several LD Systems speaker series – CONTRACTOR Series 2-way wall-mounted speakers for the hospitality areas and bowling hall, SAT G2 installation speakers for the Crossfit and Zumba rooms, and ICOA Series coaxial PA speakers for the fitness area.

The Evenflow Eternal team also received comprehensive support from the Indian LD Systems distributor, Stagemix Technologies in terms of deciding placement of the speakers and subwoofers.

In the quiet restaurant and café areas, Evenflow Eternal installed the versatile CWMS 52 two-way wall speakers from the CONTRACTOR Series on the brick walls (indoors) and posts of the pergola awnings (outdoors) to achieve even sound coverage. The CWMS 52s are also used in the bowling hall. Here, the all-round speakers can prove their assertiveness even in noisy environments – supported by the compact and powerful SUB 10 A 10in subwoofer with integrated three-channel power amplifier.

Two more SUB 10 A units provide motivating beats in the Crossfit/Zumba area, which are played via Bluetooth to the subwoofers by the trainers. The SAT 62 G2 6.5in installation speakers – which feature a bass reflex design – are used here as powerful full-range systems, which integrate discreetly into the modern and urban fitness ambience. In the neighbouring trampoline area, the SAT 82 G2 8in version is used in combination with two SUB 10 A subwoofers. To safeguard both people and technology, the 120 W (RMS) two-way speakers were welded directly on to the existing metal structures at a height of 4.6m.

The fitness area provided a particular challenge, as it comprises the largest sound reinforcement area at around 250 sq m and there is also always a high ambient noise level. “We needed a rich, assertive sound pressure to support the guests’ workout.” www.ld-systems.com

The solution: four ICOA 12 coaxial PA speakers with 12in woofers and 1in tweeter drivers, aimed at the area from an elevated position via ICOA 12 UB universal mounts. Additional bass support down to 36 Hz is provided by two active ICOA SUB 15 A bass reflex PA subwoofers.

Fotos: Aatu Heikkonen / Inspiroiva Creative

Moment Magnet

Customer: Helsinki Outlet

Lighting Design: Lighting Design

Collective, Jari Vuorinen

Technical implementation: Audico Systems Oy

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After spending his teenage years creating custom AV solutions for his own local rental business, which itself grew out of a fledgling career as a magician, Thomas Riedel found his calling in the communications business. Now, as Riedel enters its 36th year of operation, the company is enjoying its most successful period, with two record years in succession coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a third set to follow in 2023. With a series of acquisitions and new partnerships and projects announced on a regular basis, the growth in the company is evident, but it might have all been very different had it not been for a few key moments and milestones in the early days back in Wuppertal, which lies in North RhineWestphalia, Germany.

“I grew up with an interest in showbusiness, and when I was 10 years old, I enjoyed performing as a magician –which were mostly private performances for friends and family,” said Thomas. “This was my introduction to the entertainment world, and when I was 15 or 16, I became interested in organising parties, and for those I needed specialised technology.”

In addition, Thomas felt his own performances needed speakers and spotlights to enhance his stage presence, and so his interest in technology grew. “With my limited budget – which at the time was close to zero – I needed to build things myself, and so I built my own loudspeakers and spotlights, doing as much as I possibly could with very little resources. This gradually built into a small rental business and any little bits of money I earned from putting on parties went towards the next bit of kit I needed to build or buy.”

After turning 18, Thomas officially founded his own business, but admittedly without any clear, ambitious plan for the future, and it was by chance that his head was turned by organising an event that needed two-way radios for communication.

“Looking back, this was the milestone that got me interested in communications,” he admitted. “For a long time, this was the focus of Riedel. Soon after, our business grew to become a big player in the radio rental business.” It was a period of discovery for Thomas as he began to develop products, such as headsets for the radios, which did not previously exist. “This was back in the early 1990s, and while products like that were available in the security industry, dedicated ones to work across broadcast and entertainment settings did not,” said Thomas, who admitted that there was a lot of learning on the job.

“I received some feedback, with people asking if they could connect to a talk-back intercom system, and I would ask ‘what’s that?’ because I had no idea back then,” he said.

“But I learned, because it was a relatively simple concept to understand, and from there I built an interface to connect them. That interface was called RiFace, and that was my first real product which was sold to broadcast stations and production companies. That was the foundation of the manufacturing side of Riedel, which is today called the Product Division.”

The company’s rental radios are today part of Riedel’s Managed Technology Division, while its third division is known as Riedel Networks. While the three divisions effectively already previously existed in some form, it was made official during a company restructure which was announced in December 2021, after the pandemic had afforded Thomas and his colleagues time to reflect on the state of the business.

“That whole period was very tough on the industry, and for us 2020 was not a nice year,” said Thomas. “But it can help to reflect, to take a break and look at things. We came out of the pandemic massively stronger than we went into it. 2021 was a record year, and then 2022 was as well. Now, we sit here in the second quarter of 2023 and Riedel is on path for another record year.”

Thomas highlights an upsurge in staffing levels as evidence of the company’s growth. “We have more than 1,000 members of staff now, and we are hiring, on average, three or four people per week across our 35-plus locations around the world,” he said. “From that point of view, I believe that somehow, putting in that forced break – at a time when we were constantly on full throttle with no time to think – forced us to think and gave us that time.”

One other aspect that Thomas looked at during this period was his own personal development. “I was initially looking at two divisions – Managed Technology and the Product Division,” he said. “Riedel Networks had been run independently by its own CEO since 2012, and is very successful, so that made me think that this setup could work for the other two divisions, and would allow me to try new things. I need to make the company independent from myself, not that I want to sell – I am fully committed to this company. But there is responsibility where a company should be independent from a single person.” Recently, with a little more time to pursue other interests, Thomas announced the Germany SailGP Team alongside F1 star Sebastian Vettel and double Olympic sailing bronze medallist Erik Heil, with SailGP co-founder and CEO Sir Russell Coutts presenting a yellow wheel of the F50 boat to Thomas, Heil and Vettel as a symbolic welcome to SailGP. “As a company, Riedel has always been able to not only understand formats but evolve them through technology and innovation,” said Thomas at the announcement in June. “I see great potential in all directions with the Germany SailGP Team: sports, business and media. We believe that a great movement can emerge from this.” Back at Riedel headquarters, bringing in a CEO for each of the three divisions “creates a type of back-up” according to Thomas. “My position as Group CEO means that operationally I’m not involved in the day-to-day business, but in another way I’m involved constantly everywhere on a business development level, because people want to talk to me and I want to talk to them. It is about balance – me not wanting to annoy those managers too much, but still wanting to contribute something.”

Left: The Comédie-Française — the oldest active theater company in the world — has deployed Riedel’s Bolero wireless intercom system in a standalone configuration at its primary venue, the Salle Richelieu.

Below: Involved in Formula 1 since 1993, Riedel manages all audio and video feeds received from the racetrack and distributes them to all racing teams, their factories, the F1 governing body, and the host broadcaster. Photo courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari.

Thomas has been contributing meaningfully every step of the way from the earliest days of their development in the communications field – often growing with the need and creating solutions for needs that didn’t exist previously.

“In our early beginnings, we took on a lot of exciting projects, winning contracts with the International Olympic Committee and Formula 1 in the first half of the 1990s,” said Thomas. “At that time, neither of those organisations were highly developed in the communications field, so there was a need for them to have better systems – and across both the organisational and broadcast elements of their events.

“So, I grew with that need, and although at that time there were some settled players in the broadcast intercom market, they didn’t have many challengers. And Riedel was a young, hungry company that wanted to challenge them, with new features and new ideas.”

Towards the end of the 1990s, Riedel had developed the Artist intercom system, which Thomas says was different to intercom systems in the market at that time. “This was the product which saw us become much more of an international business,” he said.

Looking back, Thomas admits that the installation element to Riedel was embedded in the company’s DNA from day one. “In the very early days, locally to us across Germany, we were selling our products for use in theatres,” said Thomas. “And even before the launch of Artist, I had built a smaller intercom system called Riedel Compact, which was a small matrix of 32 by 32 in and output.

“That was sold primarily to theatres and convention centres, often at quite a high number and there are still some in use today that we service – systems that are 30 years old that still work. One thing I understood in those early days was that if I wanted the company to develop and grow, we needed to invest in technology.”

For Thomas, this means re-investing profits into technology that allows for further growth. “Even up to today, I believe that investment in technology is the key to success,” he said. “That is how we have always progressed, both via R&D and via acquisitions, which often are a shortcut to buy the technologies which others have developed and fit nicely with what we have.”

Another key aspect to Riedel’s operation is respect – both internally and externally. “It is super important to respect you clients, and equally to respect all the staff in our company, our suppliers and our partners,” continued Thomas. “If you have the right level of respect, no matter if the needs of a client are very small, or if it is a huge project, then you will do well. It is worth remembering that small clients can become bigger clients later on, and if you treat people fairly, then you can set up a relationship for life. And this is true from both a business and a personal perspective.”

Respect for clients is a core element to Riedel’s business, but effective, user-friendly product is also required, and Riedel came to the fore in 2017 with the release of Bolero, its flagship wireless intercom system. “We have done a number of cool things as a company, but I admit that Bolero is the most successful product we have launched, and it has become a global standard in an area over such a short period of time,” said Thomas. “It has exceeded our expectations. I think we have good experts on both business and technology internally, and we had a business plan in place acknowledging the market, but we exceeded those numbers – and by far.”

One of the key reasons why Bolero is such a success is because it unexpectedly began being used in areas which had previously not been covered by wireless intercom systems. “On one hand, we saw it used in applications which were previously covered by two-way radios,” said Thomas. “But where the new business came from is those new applications where we saw wireless intercom being used in ways in which even we didn’t think of. The COVID-19 pandemic caused untold challenges to our industry, and one example of that was the social distancing rules that were enforced.

“Now, some industries needed ways to work around that in order to continue operating. The film industry in Hollywood needed a good, hands-free communication system to work around those restrictions, and so some invested in Bolero. Now, long after those restrictions are over, they have continued with those Bolero systems –that’s an area of the business that previously did not exist.” At the age of 55, Thomas is still keen to shape the company into an image of his likening. “One of my goals is to make Riedel more international and more multicultural, because I believe that has been a big part of our success so far,” he stated. “I come from a small city in Germany, but I see myself as more ‘European’ than German. I’m a huge fan of Europe and believe that the multicultural elements that we have across Europe is a huge asset, and in some ways this multicultural structure protects our democracy across Europe, and is a strong foundation for the future.”

With a central location in Europe, the city of Wuppertal just happened to be the starting point in life for Thomas Riedel, and while both he and the company have their roots there, only once previously had there been a discussion to relocate the business.

“Back in 2003, we had a serious discussion about moving to Berlin because we saw the company growing internationally,” admitted Thomas. “But there were two clear reasons why we didn’t make the move. Firstly, most people wanted to stay in Wuppertal, and I would have lost a lot of core people and talent had we made the move. Secondly, we could purchase a big facility in Wuppertal at a fantastic price – and this remains our HQ to this day. That gave us the opportunity to grow without moving, and both of those reasons were the right ones to stay.”

Casting his mind back even further, Thomas is keen to acknowledge a huge influence on him taking the career path that he did, and that is former audio technician Günther Schütte.

“Günther was one of the pioneers after WW2 who built technology when nothing existed, and he developed audio consoles and tube amplifiers,” said Thomas. “He passed

Left: The historic Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, also known as the De Munt Theatre, has upgraded its entire staff communications infrastructure based on intercom equipment from Riedel Communications. Consisting of the Artist digital matrix intercom, Bolero wireless intercom in both integrated and standalone modes, and SmartPanel multifunctional user interfaces, the Riedel solution surpasses the theater’s requirements for highly flexible, reliable, high-quality, and futureproof intercom operations.

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ON THE BEST PERFORMACE VENUE MONDO DR AWARD away 10 years ago and he was a mentor in my early days helping me, not so much on a technical level, but teaching me the fundamental things that I now believe in. He was very humble and I am super proud that I met him when I did. I had a great father, and Günther was very much like a second father to me.”

When it comes to his life outside of business hours, Thomas likes to spend his downtime with his family, including his brothers and sisters and their children. Having said that, he admits he rarely switches off fully. “My brain never stops thinking about how to improve things – no matter where I am,” he laughed. “If I’m on vacation, sat at a harbour watching boats coming in and out, I am thinking about the management of that. Or If I see things that are not well organised in a restaurant I’m tempted to get up and help… of course I don’t, but in my mind I’m thinking about how I can do things better!

“I believe there are two main reasons why someone buys a product,” he added. “The first is that you save money because you get more efficient with the new product. The other is to make money – so you buy something that you can then do more with.

“No matter where I go, I have these thoughts in my head: ‘How can I make things more efficient, save money and do things better?’. The other reason is innovation. And the combination of those things, if it’s done right, no matter what business you’re in, I think you will be successful. That’s my personal recipe for what we do at Riedel. I carry that with me constantly.”

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New three-tiered nightspot in Liverpool opens with a sophisticated NEXO sound solution delivered by Audiologic and installed by

Having previously operated bars and clubs in Liverpool, Kevin Midgley and his team recently made their first step into the restaurant sector with the opening of Zenn, and when it came to detailing the AV solutions, Midgley turned to a trusted source.

“We have been involved in three previous projects for the owners of Zenn,” said Gary Wynne of A to Z Supplies. “I’ll never forget the look on their faces when I powered up my first NEXO installation for them, over 20 years ago. They couldn’t believe the power from such a compact system, and so from that day on I’ve always specified NEXO speakers whenever the budget allows, and I knew that NEXO would be perfect for Zenn.”

With Zenn operating over three levels – including a rooftop garden – and needing audio solutions across each level, the brief for the venue’s system was for it to be discreet yet powerful.

“Zenn functions as a restaurant in the early part of the evening, but come 10pm it becomes more of a nightclub type environment,” explained Wynne. “With that, the owners wanted something that was loud when they needed it to be, with really strong volume, but with great clarity at low levels – and for it to be as discreet as we can make it.”

Once Wynne got the go-ahead, he reached out to NEXO distributor Audiologic, which began work designing the system, with Applications Engineer Diogo Scutti using

NEXO’s NS-1 configuration and simulation software to create a 3D model of the system.

“The first thing I did was attend a site visit so I could understand the space, and from there start planning the suitable speaker positions and their coverage,” said Scutti. “The Zenn team had supplied all the construction documentation, with structural and electrical plans, elevations, and furniture details, which allowed me to create an accurate 3D model to be used on NS-1 software.”

As Zenn is a multipurpose site, Scutti admitted it was a challenge to find suitable speakers for both the restaurant setting and the more upbeat nightclub setting.

“The main challenge was to deliver something with a high level of quality and intelligibility when in restaurant mode, and also good SPL and coverage when the late night mode kicks in,” said Scutti.

The ground floor restaurant level is split into three zones, with six NEXO P10 point source loudspeakers distributed throughout the main dining area, supplemented by NEXO ID24s to infill the supplementary spaces, and another P10 in the DJ booth.

A pair of ID24s are also deployed in an outside area to cover guests who may be waiting to get into the venue, and four NEXO L15 subs extend the low-end response on the ground floor.

Seven ID24s and an additional pair of L15 subs are deployed on the mezzanine level overlooking the restaurant, while the roof terrace bar features five ID24s and two L15 subs. All amplification and processing come from a rack of four NEXO NXAMP4X2MK2 four-channel powered controllers.

“Using the NS-1 software, I could match the suitable speakers, using a range of ID24 speakers on several different coverage degrees for the mezzanine and terrace summed to L15 subwoofers, while P10s with different dispersion angle flanges and L15s for the main area,” said Scutti. “As the NEXO speakers are also known for their outstanding acoustic headroom, I knew those would sit nicely on this project.

“Being able to vary the HF dispersion for the P10s and ID24s was a great help in achieving even coverage throughout each of the zones,” reported Scutti. “I was impressed by how closely the performance of the installed system followed the software predictions. NS-1 also enabled us to produce comprehensive documentation to hand over to Gary, who did a really great job on the install.”

“When the system was fully installed by our partners at A to Z Supplies, I attended on-site to start the system’s tuning and calibration,” continued

Scutti. “This mainly consisted of phase alignment between HF and LF speakers, minor tweaks on equalisation (because the NEXO preset already has most of the needed as default), and levels setup between all space floors, because the main ground floor system interacts substantially with the mezzanine – and vice versa – due to the shape of the space.”

Scutti was impressed by the space’s acoustic condition, with its geometry and furnishings helping, but he still needed the NS-1 to iron out some minor imperfections in sound coverage.

“Using the NS-1, I could identify possible lousy interaction between the system and the space, and spot the right positions for installation, optimising the RT there,” he said. “Clearly, when the venue is full the system behaves even better, however I was pretty happy when I heard the system with the space completely empty.”

For Wynne, the installation process went smoothly thanks to the collaboration with the venue’s builders. “We were on site a lot throughout the process and the builders were very co-operative,” he said. “We had marked everything in detail on the plans to where the speakers were to be fixed, and some of them were located on the steelwork, so they drilled through that in order for us to get the cabling set up and the fastenings in for the speakers.”

Alongside the amplifiers in the rack room is a single Cloud DCM1E Digital Zone Mixer unit, for distributing the audio output across the four zones in the venue. Bar staff can then adjust the input source and volume levels on the Cloud CDR-1 FB digital wall plates, which are situated at each bar.

For Midgley, the project represented a job well done by all involved, and he was keen to highlight the role of Scutti in the success of the venue’s audio system.

“This was quite a big project, and Diogo came to the site with a really scientific approach to choosing the right speakers for the space,” he said. “Gone are the days of having huge speakers, because smaller boxes can produce the same results, and they’re much more discreet. The science behind it is brilliant; he went over the plans in great detail and it was a dream for the project managers.

“He came down and gave us a demonstration on his computer on how the system would work. Then, at the venue’s opening, he was sat down with his computer – half eating a steak from the restaurant and half fixing any ‘pink noise’ in the room – it was amazing. He really put the finishing touches to the audio system, so special credit must go to him.

“The whole service from Audiologic was first class,” he continued. “They are a great company to work with. They came to the site and stipulated that ‘this is what you need for this’, and they took on board what I had in mind – and ran with it.”

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

AUDIO

13 x NEXO ID24-I12060

5 x NEXO ID24 I6060

3 x NEXO ID24-I12040

2 x NEXO ID24 I9040

7 x NEXO P10-I

8 x NEXO L15 Subwoofer

4 x NEXO NXAMP4x2MK2

1 x Cloud BT-1EB

4 x Cloud CDR1-FB

1 x Cloud DCM1E

We’d like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Mondo judging panel for declaring us winners of the 2023 Mondo-DR Sustainability Award.

There’s never been a more important time for the AV world to reduce its environmental impact – so come and join us in putting sustainability at the very heart of our industry.

To find out more, visit www.genelec.com/sustainability