It’s an old cliché, but the saying ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ often proves to be true. Especially so, in the case of the Roxy Bar and Screen, an innovative bar-cum-cinema near London’s Borough Market.
The cloud formed as the company originally approached to install the sound and vision system at the pioneering venue pulled out of the project. But business partners Philip Wood and Jonathan Breeze then approached post-production broadcast and high end home theatre specialists Kaurus, a day which Phil describes as “one of the most fortuitous days we had.”
Phil and Jon had developed the concept of a venue which served as a bar and restaurant, but which also had high quality cinema screenings as a primary element. Putting your average “pub with the football on a big screen” completely into the shade, Roxy has already attracted much deserved praise for its stylish high standards, including being listed in the latest Time Out magazine’s Top Five Best London Cinemas - in such illustrious company as the Odeon, Leicester Square and the British Film Institute cinema at the South Bank.
It would have been easy for Phil and Jon to have complemented the cinematic and dining experience with an adequate but consumer-specification audio system, even with 7.1 surround sound being an essential element of the cinema side of the business.
But, in conjunction with the expertise of Kaurus’s Paul and Peter Sutton, they opted for a high specification Yamaha system - and the business hasn’t looked back since.
“In most installations like this, audio always ends up being the poor relation,” says Paul Sutton. “So it was great that the guys had the foresight and guts to say they wanted to really ‘go for it’ with the sound.”
“It was important that we had cinema quality sound for the screenings, but it was key that this wasn't at the expense of the quality of the music playing at all other times,” adds Philip Wood. “And with the Yamaha system we've managed to get the best of both worlds, at very good value.”
Kaurus specced a remotely controlled Yamaha DME24 digital mixing engine (complete with MY-8ADDA96 eight channel analogue input/output card), with five XP5000 power amplifiers driving nine Installation Series loudspeakers.
The DME24 controls all inputs, outputs and EQ and offers tremendously flexible control for the audio across the three main customer areas - bar, dining area and cinema. The cinema can function as a standalone venue with an alternate sound source audible in the other two areas, or the cinema soundtrack can be broadcast to any area at any volume, completely independently of the others.
“With the flexibility that was required and the fact that they wanted to include an 100v line background music system in the bar, we soon realised that the combination of the DME24 and XP5000 amplifiers would be ideal,” says Paul Sutton.
“It literally ticked all the boxes. plus the equipment has a very good reputation and we weren’t limited in any way in the different system components we could use. That also meant there would be the flexibility to amend and update the system as we went along and into the future, if required. What we achieved simply wouldn’t be possible with lower-specification equipment.”
“The DME’s functionality has been very useful,” adds Philip Wood. “Since opening, Kaurus have added in a setting to control the synch delay, plus a setting to alter the level of the back speakers in the surround area and one to alter the volume of just the sub-bass. We’ve also just included an additional feed to the amps on the other side of the room from our main mixer / inputs area. These were all done very simply.”
Phil also notes that making adjustments to the audio system is intuitive and simple, another benefit of using the DME24. “Changing the settings is very simple. We do it a couple of times a day and adjust the volume even more times,” he says.
With flats above the Roxy, it was also important to be able to contain the sound and tweak certain frequencies to ensure that residents aren’t unnecessarily disturbed by the sound. Indeed, with so many city councils imposing stringent sound limits, the system allows plenty of flexibility to keep Southwark Council happy.
“If the council required, it would be straightforward to automatically reduce the sound level at the same time each night, with staff unable to override the setting,” says Paul Sutton. “We couldn’t do that without the DME24.”
One unusual facet of the system was the use of Yamaha Installation Series loudspeakers, which Kaurus recognised had not been used in this specific type of environment before. However, it’s an experimental approach which paid off handsomely.
“The Installation Series speakers had never been tried in this sort of venue, so we were full of admiration that Phil and Jonathan were prepared to put their hands in their pockets on what was a slight gamble,” says Paul Sutton. “But we had confidence that the equipment would cut the mustard and we also had complete faith in Yamaha. They were with us all the way.”
He continues: “As it turned out, the sound quality is unbelievable. The speakers are very efficient, they have good spread and power. Overall we’re very happy with what we’ve managed to achieve.”
And what of the man whose opinion is absolutely critical - the client?
“The speakers sound great to me,” says Philip Wood. “I'm not really a sound person, but the surround system is incredible when you've got a movie that really uses it. At the same time, playing music through it does sound really clear and sharp.”
He adds: “People have commented on the sound in the screenings - the picture quality is excellent, but I don't think people notice that too much. But they will always notice the difference between muffled sound and clear surround sound flying all around the room!”
So, how does he sum up the Yamaha system? Did Roxy’s cloud really turn out to have a silver lining?
“The system has been great for us, it was an excellent investment. The day the original company pulled out and I contacted Kaurus was one of the most fortuitous days we had on the project,” he says. “What they've achieved with the budget and the level of service and quality we've received (often under some very difficult build conditions!) has really blown me away.”
