Tannoy Matches Hotel Acoustic Needs

An audio solution worthy of the best recording studios has been installed in a new state-of-the-art hotel.
The new Kameha Grand hotel in Bonn, defines new standards in luxury hotel architecture and boasts an installed sound system to match.
Grand Kameha in the German city has a total of 254 rooms, including 63 suites, and a multi-functional 2,500 capacity event space, making it well placed to attract both private travellers as well as the high end corporate/business market.
As a direct result of both the building's unique modern design, with the acoustic challenges that this often presents, and the hotel's objective of meeting the most demanding business and conference needs, the A/V facilities required special attention - with the resulting system setting new standards for this type of project.
At the centre of the new building is the huge 1,800 sq. metre multi-function hall - covered by a glass roof canopy up to 21 metres high at the highest point of its arc.
Consequently, the audio solution required to deal with such a challenging acoustic problem, would naturally be quite complex and as such the client brought a consultant onboard to address this at an early stage in the development.
ThomNet Media Engineering were appointed to consult on the design and specification of the audio system covering all public spaces within the Kameha, including the huge hall (called the Kameha Dome) which posed the most difficult problems.
After a competitive comparison test between three manufacturer's products, Tannoy's QFlex digitally steerable loudspeaker system was found to deliver the best performance in the huge event space, with the minimum impact on the building's aesthetics.
A pair of QFlex48 columns were all that was required to provide even and controlled coverage of the full hall, mounted discretely on the steel frame of the building envelope - high above the main entrance, aimed back across the hall floor.
This is where QFlex's ability to steer multiple beams of acoustic energy across several planes, and at quite extreme angles if necessary, really proved to be invaluable.
It allows audio to be focused on a specific area of the hall, without worrying too much about indirect sound reaching other areas (such as when the hall is divided into multiple uses) and ensuring very high intelligibility in the desired listening areas.
The ability to maintain effective beam control at much higher steering angles than alternative systems allows for much more discrete (higher) location of the loudspeakers - up and out of sight, but still able to fire right down as well as out across the hall depending on specific uses of the space.
In total, over 100 Tannoy CMS 801DC Dual Concentric(tm) driver equipped loudspeakers were installed, delivering premium audio quality with the minimum of impact to the design aesthetics of the themed bars and restaurants as well as throughout the various corporate / meeting rooms and the SPA / Sauna facility.
The entire in-ceiling audio system was powered by a rack of Lab.gruppen’s C Series installation-dedicated amplifiers.
Chosen for their flexibility and ultra-reliability in fixed installation applications like this, a mix of the Swedish manufacturer's four-channel C10:4X and 8-channel C10:8X were specified at Grand Kameha.
Completing the 450,000 euro A/V installation, Biamp Audioflex provided DSP control, while Panasonic and Crestron video products were specified throughout the conferencing and meeting rooms, making Grand Kameha a stunning example of true A/V integration within the hotel market.
Bonn-based CEE Media handled the installation of both audio and video throughout the new hotel.
(BMcC/GK)