GOTHAM RED BANK UPGRADES WITH MARTIN AUDIO CDD

Global Audio Systems has just completed an upgrade of the Gotham Red Bank restaurant with a full complement of Martin Audio CDD installation speakers.

As described by Global Audio owner Jason Ojeda, 'Gotham is a restaurant that turns into a nightclub on Friday and Saturday nights, becoming an Ultra-Lounge later in the evening.

One of the challenges implicit in Gotham's restaurant/lounge format is the sound system had to be equally effective in providing background music for dining and foreground DJ programming for what Jason describes as 'sophisticated, mature dance music in a deep house lounge environment.'

Part of the solution came from Jason's longtime friend Ernie Lake at El Media, a custom music server provider for top-drawer venues such as the Four Seasons and Waldorf Astoria hotels, and Rouge Tomate and Le Bernardin restaurants in New York.

The other critical component was Martin Audio's popular CDD (Coaxial Differential Dispersion) speakers mounted up on the walls throughout the venue. As Jason explains, 'we used 20 Martin Audio CDD speakers including CDD5's in the hallways and restrooms, CDD6's in the bar and dining areas, a CDD12 as DJ monitor and a CDD15 for the dance area.'

Asked why he chose CDD, Jason responds, 'I literally just read up on the CDD Series and its dispersion capabilities and gave it a test. CDD lets us cut down on the quantity of speakers because of their exceptional coverage.

'Because of CDD's reduced size, increased efficiency and wide dispersion capabilities, the Gotham Red Bank project required 20 to 30% less speakers, which means fewer power amps and less time and labor to install, adding up to real savings.

'In terms of appearance and cosmetics, CDD maintains a very clean look within the space because you don't see a million speakers all over the place. Also the box design is very compact for its performance. CDD is designed to make installers, designers, architects and clients feel great about the installation.'

Discussing the CDD's audio performance, Jason adds, 'the speakers provide a very wide horizontal and vertical dispersion. The critical details of the program material sound absolutely clear within the entire listening area. The bottom line is you can hear the vocal and the midrange everywhere it's needed. The coverage is amazing, there's no drop-off from 1K and above.

'CDD works for every spectrum of music, whether it's the live piano bar with a Baby Grand, Frank Sinatra in the background or dance music.

'Gotham's owners are blown away,' he concludes. 'They were so impressed with CDD after the first phase of the installation, they decided to rip out the existing speakers in the dance floor area and replace them with CDD. They've noticed the difference in sound quality 100%.'