d&b audiotechnik provides a sound foundation for Gallery Club.
Intro
New nightclub and music venue Gallery has embraced solutions from d&b audiotechnik, investing in world-class sound, while navigating strict noise regulations – despite its location beneath an exclusive hotel in the heart of West London…
Setting the scene
Running a music venue in an urban setting calls for a clever balance of entertainment, access, and compliance. Entertainment is the relatively easy part: operators understand demand. But then come the bigger challenges – choosing a location that is accessible, while keeping the noise down. The problem is that ‘accessible’ usually goes hand-in-hand with ‘residential’.
Noise is a constant concern. Licensing conditions strictly limit its impact on nearby residents, who have a right to protection from ‘unreasonable’ disturbance. But even if an operator has struck this balance successfully for years, things can change. ‘Residential encroachment’ can introduce new neighbours to the mix; noise complaints can lead to licensing restrictions, requiring expensive acoustic treatments or limitations to the programme – both of which can challenge a business’s viability.
Despite these challenges, one operator has chosen to locate a new live music attraction in the heart of West London. Opened in March 2025, Gallery is the latest venture from the team behind private members club B London, on Old Brompton Road. A multi-room nightclub venue, Gallery, is located not just in the busy environs of High Street Kensington, adjacent to the Palace and Gardens, but beneath the exclusive Royal Garden Hotel.
Noise control is essential.
Setting Objectives
Barth Rougier, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Gallery, says, “We wanted to bring something more underground, more cutting edge, where people could listen to top DJs and great quality sound. We wanted Gallery to truly be a part of the music circuit, like Fabric, Phonox, Drumsheds – all these amazing clubs that deliver some of the world’s biggest and up-and-coming DJs – just for West London.”
To provide the solution, Gallery approached Middlesex Sound & Lighting (MSL). As a leading supplier and installer of professional audio-visual systems, they are well versed in the challenges of equipping exclusive hospitality venues.
Gallery is a difficult space. To deal with its low ceiling, MSL preferred an approach with a greater number of boxes to ensure good sound quality and coverage throughout, while keeping levels under control. In this, directivity would also be key.
And that wasn’t the only consideration: to attract the calibre of artist that Gallery was targeting, the system would have to have rider-friendly appeal.
The Solution
MSL proposed a solution from d&b’s installation-specific xS-Series, for several reasons. Firstly, the client was already familiar with d&b, from its installation at B London. Secondly, it easily met the rider-friendly requirement. And thirdly, its product range gave the designers access to the variety of sizes, output power and dispersion patterns that they would need.
“We’ve had a great experience with xS-Series in the past,” says MSL director Darrel Olivier, “not only in terms of performance, but the compact nature and variety of products in the range means we can provide a perfect fit for challenging spaces.”
The xS-Series is designed for installation flexibility. The compact point source cabinets feature rotatable horns, enabling them to be deployed in either orientation. For Gallery, these are supported by a combination of distributed ultra-compact Bi8 and a couple of larger 12S subwoofers to maintain the energy levels required. d&b’s cardioid subwoofer technology delivers low frequencies exactly where needed with strong rear rejection, keeping unwanted spill to an absolute minimum.
“I absolutely love the fact that the xS boxes are so compact, yet so effective,” says Olivier. “Gallery is quite a tight, intimate space, and one of the things that’s so wonderful is that the Bi8 installation subs are so compact, they can be hidden – built into joinery, into seating.”
He adds, “Also, because of the quantity that we’ve got throughout the venue, you never really know where the sound’s coming from. That’s not only the subwoofers, but the mid/high elements too. The xS boxes are phenomenal for their footprint: the SPLs they achieve are amazing.”
The higher number of smaller, more compact boxes makes for a more satisfying solution. “The quantity of speakers we specified meant we could keep the levels more consistent,” says Olivier, “which minimised the amount of energy around any one point, giving a more even coverage.”
To further maximise system control, great care was taken with the processing and amplifier channel counts. Says Olivier, “I think d&b’s introduction of the 5D amplifier has been a game-changer, because it makes specifying systems so much more efficient and cost-effective.”
Also helping Gallery’s owners with cost-efficiency is d&b’s Subscription Series. A tool that supports the needs of business, it offers a full-service, low-risk alternative to ownership. It gives operators complete access to their d&b system, plus all expected support, with a single, fixed monthly payment. “d&b’s Subscription Series really helps the end user,” says Olivier. “It makes having a d&b sound system installed in their venue much more viable.”
As Rougier says, “We’re entrepreneurs, and Subscription Series allowed us to open this second venue more quickly.”
Technology and finance aside, the d&b name also played its part. As a global pro audio brand universally recognised by visiting engineers and artists, d&b met the essential need for rider-friendliness. “We’ve been able to attract big artists such as Carl Cox who are happy to come and perform because they know the kit is up to the highest standard,” says Rougier.
“The sound is absolutely perfect,” Rougier concludes. “With d&b technology, we’ve changed West London. That technology is enabling a cultural shift.”
