NEW YORK — TimbreTech Audio Services designed and integrated Harman gear into the sound system at Santos Party House, supporting the club’s DJ and live performances. Jim Toth designed a live system around a Soundcraft Vi6 console at FOH can be locked off and run remotely via a laptop in the DJ Booth when one of a host of top DJs is performing in the house. The Vi6 gives the club the ability to turn from a live sound venue into a DJ club, and the console’s Vistonics user-interface is so easy visiting engineers can learn it in about five minutes, Toth said.
“The Soundcraft Vi6 is a remarkable console because it systematically addresses the hierarchy of engineer needs: first and foremost, it sounds great; secondly, it’s extremely intuitive and sensibly designed; thirdly, it’s eminently configurable and lastly, it’s bulletproof,” Toth said. “I feel extremely comfortable putting this console at the core of my system.”
Toth placed a Soundcraft Vi4 at the monitor position running 6 JBL SRX 712M 12” monitor wedges powered by Crown XTI 6000 Series amplifiers. The live system features JBL VerTec VT4887DP Series line array elements with JBL VerTec VT4880 subwoofers. The VerTec VT4887DP loudspeakers let Toth set the level and EQ of each cabinet individually.
For the dance system, Toth built a 24-foot horizontal array of custom designed 5-speakers that spans the length of the room and delivers even coverage. Each 5-way featuring 24” and 15” drivers in a line spaced with minimal interference or cone filtering because they’re spaced apart carefully. The same JBL VerTec VT4888 subwoofers supply the bass.
“The coverage of this system is amazing. It has power, consistency and control that helps set the personality of the club,” said Ron Castellano, owner of the club. “There is nothing raw about it. Instead, it’s very HiFi and sophisticated but there’s massive power there if the DJ needs to accelerate.” A battery of Crown I-Tech 4000 and 8000 amplifiers with built-in DSP delivers that power.
“The DSP functionality of the I-tech is amazing not just from a control perspective but also from a cost perspective,” Toth said. “There is no way we could have gotten this sound or this control without spending a fortune on outboard processors. What’s more, to have this level of programming and control integration helped determine how creative I could be with the system design — and ultimately how good the place sounds. For 30 years, I have only used Crown amplifiers — I have looked at alternatives when new amps come along but I’ve never been given a strong enough reason to switch — now with the DSP technology that Crown is putting in the amps, I have even more reasons to use them.”
Santos Party House has a smaller room downstairs where Toth designed a system using custom cabinets and VT4880 subwoofers with two monitor arrays hanging conventionally with eight cabinets on each side of the DJ booth. Toth said some visiting DJs matrix between the monitor and dance systems and mix straight from the line arrays.
“If we’re being asked to put our name on an event or club system,” Toth added, “we need it to look and sound like one of our systems. The Harman components from Crown, JBL and Soundcraft are key elements.”
Harman HiQnet™ is a connectivity and control protocol that integrates all product categories in the signal chain for professional audio systems of all types, size, and applications. Harman HiQnet no longer requires the user to manage multiple disparate operating systems or be responsible for programming individual signal processors, speaker controllers, wireless microphone systems, and mixing consoles. HiQnet was developed by engineers from across Harman’s Professional Division and is coordinated by the System Development and Integration Group (SDIG), a team of dedicated systems specialists based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
For more information, please visit www.harman.com.
