d&b powers a heady mix of styles in Bangkok's Curve Bar
A trip to the St James Power Station, Singapore, is enough to turn most heads, but for the owners of the new Curve Bar in Bangkok it proved seminal. 'My client wanted a sound system that could balance the demands of hi-fidelity with high output,' began Apichart Tumpong of M.I. Engineering Co. Ltd, the company contracted to fulfil all the audio needs of this new and vibrant venue. 'The Power Station is vast and provides a variety of different listening experiences in its many bars and lounges; but all conform in the quality of their sound through the consistent use of d&b audiotechnik systems. While the Curve Bar is not as big, the owners took the view that it could grow and are already looking at new space allocation, so the venue is evolving.'
The Curve Bar provides a heady mix of styles, the décor is clean, modern and decidedly upmarket, with a two-storey window wall at one end and a striking monochrome etched glass display wall rising high up behind the eponymous curved bar; yet the prevailing atmosphere is relaxed, informal and fun. This mix of styles is reflected in the music, the d&b sound systems relaying live bands and DJ music in the evenings, as well as some tasty lounge lizard background sounds in the daytime. The club is divided into two areas, the main area utilising a mix of Qi7s with B2 subwoofers all driven by the d&b D12 amplifier, whilst the chill-out bar is installed with Ci60s and Ci subwoofers powered by d&b's D6 amplifier.
'Once we'd won the tender we had to address some acoustic issues as we prepared the installation,' continued Apichart. 'The glass wall and other glass décor was easy to avoid with the tight pattern control of the d&b Qi based loudspeaker system we installed, but we did check all the glass panels to ensure they were securely mounted. The Qi cabinets and the B2 subwoofers we installed could have produced noisy reverberations. That said, the system design was simple enough which we made in collaboration with d&b Asia's office in Singapore; it was a case of recognising and addressing the obvious pitfalls. We use seven different components from the d&b range of loudspeakers and amplifiers. This broad range of products, all of which conform to that distinct d&b hi-fi sound, made design and installation very straightforward.'
The venue is already packed most nights, but this is a noisy vibrant house crowd and the owners are already contemplating a system expansion as room capacity and headroom limits are reached. 'The owners are very satisfied with the system, but it won't be long before we add equipment and create new discrete listening zones,' said Apichart. Maybe the Curve Bar is destined to become its own powerhouse?
