AV Case Study: Aria Restaurant
Aria turned 25 recently. Its 25-year-old BGM system received a generational Fohhn Audio upgrade.
18 October 2024
Text:/ Christopher Holder
You don’t mess around with a restaurant like Aria. The fine-dining stalwart has recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, which sets it apart from 90% or more of restaurants that never make it to such a grand old age. Aria is an institution beloved by regulars and visitors alike for its world-class food, ambience and one of the best dining vistas in the world.
“It’s important that nothing detracts from the amazing views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, or what’s on the plate,” confirmed Restaurant Manager, Toni Clayton.
That said, there was a growing realisation that the existing background music system wasn’t cutting it and something had to give. A conversation was started with the AV provider, BeyondAV: “We were responsible for the original AV install way back 25-plus years ago and have been taking care of Aria’s requirements since,” explains BeyondAV Director, Christiaan van Schalkwyk. “We’ve noticed that Aria is increasingly being booked as an events space and the old in-ceiling speaker system just wasn’t designed to meet that sort of challenge. On those occasions we’ve had to bring in a portable PA which isn’t a great look and another expense for the restaurant.”
Restaurant Manager, Toni Clayton, came into the role late 2023, and was quickly convinced of the need for an upgrade and asked BeyondAV to scope out what a new audio solution might look like at Aria.
DEMO ON THE MENU
After it was determined the existing in-ceiling loudspeaker setup couldn’t be directly subbed out, alternatives were sought, but it had to be as low-profile as possible.
BeyondAV’s Con Andrews gave the project some consideration and thought to himself: “this could be a job for a Fohhn Audio solution.” He phoned the Fohhn distributor, Audio Brands, and spoke to Business Development Manager, Scott Angove, who had the same response: “This is a job for Fohhn!”.
“I immediately had a few thoughts and options for the space,” contributes Scott Angove. “I knew Fohhn had a product that would work visually and acoustically. Once Toni and the team at Aria heard the demo, it was clear there was no turning back.”
Ah yes, buying with your ears. Scott Angove worked with BeyondAV to arrange an on-site listening session, with the tiny Fohhn LXP-10 taking the spotlight.
“Moving into the dining area from the bar I transitioned from hearing the old audio system to a demonstration of the new Fohhn solution and the difference was night and day,” recalls Aria’s Toni Clayton. “The conversation quickly changed from an audio upgrade for the dining area to a venue-wide upgrade – the demonstration was that impressive.”
FLAT OUT
The passive four-inch, two-way, coaxial LXP-10 might be the most visible new audio addition to the dining room but its Fohhn’s ‘flat subs’ that are the unseen heroes of the installation.
The Integrato IGS-4 is a super-flat passive subwoofer designed to be mounted to the ceiling or wall but Scott and Christiaan had other ideas. The IGS-4, at only 108mm ‘thick’, could be concealed in the joinery behind the kickplate at the perimeter of the space. The sub combines 4 x four-inch drivers alongside 4 x passive radiators for improved bass extension, down to a quoted 45Hz.
“We needed a full-range, rich, hi-fi sound that wouldn’t overwhelm the space visually,” observes Scott Angove. “Conventional subs would be too boxy for this setting. Fohhn’s flat subs, based on the Fohhn Media Scale speaker technology, were ideal. The fact we could place them under joinery worked perfectly without compromising the bass quality.”
FOHHN THE QUAY
As mentioned, once Toni and her team sampled the quality of the Fohhn system no one wanted guests to suffer the aural ignominy of walking from Fohhn fidelity to the tired decrepitude of the old – it now had to be Fohhn all round.
The two private dining and events spaces were afforded a Fohhn Media Scale solution. Media Scale is more readily found in boardrooms and other corporate applications but proved a good fit for the long/thin events spaces. What’s more, the sonic signature is practically identical to the IPX-10/IGS-4 combo – the tonal transition between spaces is seamless.
The bar area luxuriates in the same LXP-10/IGS-4 combo as the dining room. The flat sub sits under a centrally-located banquette providing a little extra audio warmth to one or two lucky guests and suitably appropriate LF extension to the whole bar area.
The Aria foyer and bathrooms now have Fohhn Integrato in-ceiling speakers.
Some 28 channels of Fohhn amplification handle the full-range, low-impedance setup. The MA Series amplifiers also handle the DSP duties.
All the modelling was done by Scott Angove in Fohhn Designer, helping to ensure an even coverage throughout the venue.
It’s a luxurious system befitting the application.
PERFECT PAIRING
“As every experienced restaurant operator knows, background music underpins the ambience,” explains Toni Clayton. “If it’s done well, no one notices it, but you’d be lost without it. The new Fohhn system balances that perfectly.
“More than that, we now have a far more capable audio system that can respond to the events that are a large part of our business. We recently celebrated the restaurant’s 25th birthday with a DJ and speeches. It was the first time in 25 years that we’ve been able to use the in-house loudspeakers for a DJ and it sounded wonderful.”
Aria: ariasydney.com.au
BeyondAV: beyondav.com.au
Audio Brands (Fohhn): audiobrands.com.au
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