Sweden’s second largest city, Göteborg (Gothenburg) is a key industrial centre and is the largest port in Scandinavia. This, with a population of nearly half a million, means that the city has a lively bar culture, both day and night.
A very popular location is the Berså Bar, located in the city’s central Kungportsplatsen where the well-known statue ‘Kopparmarra’ stands,
Recently the venue underwent a complete renovation, with local audio company and Yamaha dealer Prosona AB contracted to replace the venue’s outdated audio installation. Having provided a small system for another of the owner’s venues several years ago, this time the company’s Mats Eriksson was asked to specify something considerably bigger.
“The bulk of the money for the refurbishment went into the interior design, as usual!” smiles Mats. “But, of course, the customer always wants a perfect sound system for a small investment, so I had to really explore new ways to achieve what was required.”
As Yamaha dealer for the past seven years, Mats has had much experience of the quality and value for money which Yamaha equipment offers. With this in mind, Tomas Nylen at Yamaha Scandinavia was the first person he called.
“I proposed to Tomas that perhaps we could turn Berså into a showcase for Yamaha,” says Mats. “We could do this if he could give me a complete deal for all the equipment. Tomas agreed, which was very good news for the installation.”
The key intentions for the new sound system were excellent sound quality and reliability. “However, design was also very important since the owners of Berså had employed interior designers that had to approve everything I brought in,” says Mats.
“They agreed that the new Yamaha Installation Series speakers were good looking, sleek and quite invisible from a designers point of view, which was what they wanted.”
Mats specified four Installation Series IF2208 mid-high speakers and two IS1215 sub for the venue’s main disco area, complemented by four S55 mid-highs and a SW115V sub for the adjacent bar These are powered by several XP7000 power amplifiers, with control from an SP2060 digital processor.
The outdoor serving area features two C115VA full-range speakers and an SW115V sub, also powered by XP7000 amplifiers.
The new system had to feature completely new wiring, both audio and electrical, which made the job considerably more difficult for the Prosona team. But it gave Mats the leeway to install additional cabling for future system expansion.
“In my experience, the customer will always ask for additional equipment later on,” he says. “And this proved correct as almost all the extra cabling has already been used, just six months after the bar reopened!”
The reopening of Berså bar proved quite daunting for Mats and his team, as two high profile French DJs had been flown in to perform and their initial reaction to the new system was less than ecstatic.
“They looked like they were going to die when they saw that there was a Yamaha sound system in the disco. They were, to put it mildly, very sceptical,” says Mats, adding with a grin. “But then they cranked up the volume and were quite literally blown away!”
He continues: “The disbelief was evident, it really looked as if they couldn't quite grasp what was happening. They said to my sound technician that this was one of the best sounding systems they had ever heard and started to ask about what models we had installed, how much they cost and more!”
With the new system now having been in daily use for six months, Mats reports that the owners are really happy with it and that it’s proving to be the Yamaha showcase that he hoped for.
“The owners are very excited about the sound system and have heard from several people that it is considered to be one of the best sounding systems in Göteborg. Indeed, if you look at how little it cost, it is probably the best,” he says.
“It is not a low price system by any means, but compared to other things I have installed it is ridiculously good value. I have spoken to many DJ's that are so impressed by it and, apart from some inevitable adjustments that had to be done in the first few weeks, it has worked perfectly.”
He concludes: “This has proved that Yamaha is not just about excellent amplifiers, processors and mixing consoles any more. Now they are really up there with their new loudspeakers too.”
