Sound Division heads for the Dunes
DUNES is a brand new club that has been developed on the site of what was the Po Na Na club in the exclusive district of Kensington Church Street in London’s West End. Independent club owner Bobby Syed has taken over the lease and completely refurbished the site from top to bottom to create a high class, intimate club which also includes a restaurant and separate bar area. Audio specialists Sound Division were called in to design, supply and install the new sound system which is based on JBL Control Series monitors powered by Crown amplification along with a sophisticated DJ and control set-up.
Sound Division’s David Graham who designed the audio system along with fellow system designer Elliot Patterson, said that owner Bobby Syed was looking for a high quality sound installation that would reflect the exclusive atmosphere of the club. “He was keen to have something discreet so that it didn’t intrude too much visually, yet powerful enough to make the place feel like a club as well as handling the quieter areas like the bar and restaurant,” confirmed David. “We felt that a Crown-powered JBL system with a well-appointed portable DJ booth and flexible system control from Cloud would more than handle his requirements.”
Sound Division has installed four JBL Control 25AV speaker cabinets throughout the restaurant and two Control 28s in the bar area while a total of four Control 29AV units plus a JBL MP418S 18” sub cover the main dancefloor, supplemented by a further two Control 25Avs towards the rear of the club. The DJ booth is extremely well equipped with two Technics SL1210 mk3 turntables, a Vestax PCV150 club mixer, a Denon 1800F twin CD player and a JBL Eon 10G2 powered monitor. As this is designed to be a portable system, all the equipment has been supplied with the requisite flightcasing. For background music when the DJ is not in residence, Sound Division has supplied a Pioneer PDF 958 101 multi-CD player. The whole system is controlled via a Cloud Z411 Four Zone venue mixer and two Cloud RL1 remote level control panels plus a Formula Sound AVC2 automatic volume control unit for maximum audio control and flexibility throughout the venue. To complement the audio and enhance the ambience of the club, Sound Division has also installed a combination of Abstract Moonscans and Twister 4s to create atmospheric lighting effects over the dancefloor.
Bobby Syed is delighted with the outcome. “We’ve received excellent all-round service from Sound Division. All our DJ’s love the new sound system, so everyone is happy. And one thing I must congratulate David on is his salesmanship! He convinced me to do things his way (and not everyone can do that!) and it paid off! The results are definitely worth it.
June 2003