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The Maine

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The Maine, Mayfair

London, UK.

Montreal-born Dubai-based entrepreneur Joey Ghazal has developed, owned and managed highly successful restaurant and bar concepts in Beirut and Dubai, and has long had his eye on a premium London spot. Occupying three floors of the magnificent Grade II listed Georgian townhouse in Mayfair’s Hanover Square, and blending old-world British elegance with New England extravagance, The Maine at Hanover Square is the fulfilment of a carefully laid plan, and is a classic brasserie with a typically modern twist.

Industry: Hospitality

Audio Visual Integrator: KNEKTD

Brief: To install premium quality sound systems on all three floors of the newly opened fine-dining restaurant on Hanover Square, creating the perfect unobtrusive ambience for The Maine’s well-heeled and discerning clientele.

Challenges

Introduced to the complete re-fit project by management company Gardiner & Theobald, Richmond-based technology specialist KNEKTD took on Ghazal’s very specific brief for a highly flexible, high quality audio system with minimal visual presence throughout the restaurant. For the focal Brasserie dining space Ghazal wanted to feature a high SPL but intimate central live performance space with the atmosphere of a private nightclub.

Having been impressed by the K-array audio system at a private members club in South London, KNEKTD director Shaun Wilson called upon 2B Heard to fulfil the restaurateur’s vision: “With aesthetics and performance firmly at the top of the list we looked for a speaker brand that would help us create the atmospheric mood that Joey had envisaged. I knew from experience that K-array speakers would really suit the space in a way that few other brands could.”

Crucially, a prime objective was creating the right aesthetic – making sure that the speakers fitted in well and suited the environment, making them disappear into the room and feel a part of the room so you don’t even notice that they’re there.

Finding suitable loudspeaker locations required extensive research, but Dave Wooster’s KF3D K-framework acoustic simulations predicted accurate audio coverage of all areas with a specification based on Kayman, Python, and Vyper line arrays, supplemented with Rumble and Thunder subwoofers.

As live music is such a prominent and integral feature of the restaurant experience, a high degree of functionality and interactivity was also necessary to allow sound techs to take full control of the system.

The Solution

The Brasserie features a full-on live performance rig with a Yamaha audio console and stage-box augmenting the acoustic drum kit and full complement of Sennheiser microphones and IEMs. All the live and BGM sources play through Kayman-KY102 and Python-KP52 line arrays on custom low-profile wall mounts designed to maintain accurate alignment while being visually discreet. Vyper-KV25 mini line arrays are deployed as in-fills in subtle corner locations. All the speakers are reinforced on the low end by Thunder-KMT218P subwoofers hidden in custom enclosures and an array of Rumble-KU210 subwoofers hidden in the ceiling.

In the ground floor Tavern, twin decks and a Pioneer desk are at the front end of the mostly hidden K-array sound system, with the Vyper-KV25 mini line arrays located behind custom fabricated wall grilles and Rumble KU-26 subwoofers providing low end grunt from bespoke floor-mounted cabinets.

Downstairs in the secret VIP lounge on the lowest level, accessed only through a mirrored door so you wouldn’t even know it’s there, is an opulent hide-away equipped with a high-SPL DJ system consisting of Python-KP52 line arrays on custom low-profile mounts and under-seating Rumble-KU212 subwoofers that just disappear into the subtly lit highly plush environment. For those with the right credentials and a strong desire for a party scene, it’s a thumping nightclub down there.

Even the toilet lobby has been given the full sonic treatment, with custom finish Tornado-KT2 point source satellites covering the space supplemented by Rumble-KU44 subwoofers concealed in the central island.

The main speaker systems are mostly powered by Kommander-KA84 Dante-equipped DSP amplifiers located in the lower ground floor rack room, together with an Innosonix MA32/D multi-channel DSP-amplifier with Dante providing power for some of the BGM systems.

Kit list

BRASSERIE

Background music and full live-performance system:

  • 5 x Vyper-KV25 mini line arrays
  • 2 x Kayman-KY102 line arrays
  • 6 x Python-KP52 I line arrays
  • 4 x Rumble-KU210 subwoofers
  • 2 x Thunder-KMT218P subwoofers
  • 3 x Kommander-KA84 DSP-amplifiers with Dante

TOILETS & LOBBY

Low-level background music system:

  • 5 x Tornado-KT2 point-source satellites
  • 2 x Rumble-KU44 subwoofers

TAVERN

Background music system:

  • 3 x Vyper-KV25 mini line-arrays
  • 2 x Rumble-KU26 subwoofers

SECRET LOUNGE

Background music and high-SPL DJ system:

  • 6 x Python-KP52 line arrays
  • 6 x Rumble-KU212 subwoofers
  • 2 x Kommander-KA84 DSP-amplifiers with Dante

ADDITIONAL AMPLIFICATION

Background music systems are powered by:
Innosonix MA32/D DSP-amplifier with Dante

Gallery

Loudspeaker installation Guildford Cathedral

“I’m extremely pleased with the K-array system, it’s performing exactly as I would have expected and I’m super happy with the end product.”

 

Shaun Wilson, Director, KNEKTD.

Guildford Cathedral Speaker Installation
Guildford Cathedral Speaker Installation

“The speakers look great and they suit the space beautifully, which is what the client was really focused on. It’s all about the environment. I’ve really enjoyed working with Joey and I’m really proud to have been part of helping to fulfil his highly imaginative dream. He’s loving the system and it’s working well.”

 

Shaun Wilson, Director, KNEKTD.

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