Dream Project
Daydream Island Resort’s epic $140m comeback from Cyclone Debbie.
11 September 2019
Daydream Island Resort on Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef is back! Battered by 260kph winds and a tidal surge that saw two feet of water flood through its main buildings, the resort was almost destroyed by Cyclone Debbie in March 2017. Now, thanks to a $140m makeover, it’s back in business and looking great. And it is sounding great thanks to an all-new Bose sound system installed by local integrators NQAV.
Bose now provides the soundtrack in the main building with its three-storey atrium; the signature swim-up pool bar; all five restaurants; and the newly created underwater observatory where guests can chat to divers in the resort’s Living Reef display beyond the plexiglass wall.
DAYDREAM NERVE CENTRE
From his first inspection, amid the bustle of the rebuilding works, NQAV’s Kevin Booth knew the installation would be challenging. Building work was well advanced and cable access would be tricky. His brief from Daydream’s IT Manager Craig Williams was to provide a centrally managed background system to each of the public spaces, complete with local inputs and controls in each zone.
“From previous jobs we knew that a Dante-based system could give us the central control and management we needed,” Kevin recalled. “We chose Bose because we could integrate a complete Dante system with the amplifiers as well as the DSPs. Plus, we could easily extend the system as new areas on the Island opened.”
The central music sources connect to a Bose ESP1240 DSP with a Dante card that sits on the Island’s network backbone. Bose PM 4250N networked amplifiers, with a Dante card in each, provide amplification at each zone. Where needed, Bose WP22BU-D wallplates provide inputs for local music sources or for radio microphone receivers.
The remote management capabilities of the Bose systems are especially useful for on-island operations. “It makes things a lot easier because you don’t actually have to physically go and stand in front of the infrastructure to manage it,” declared Craig Williams. “And also it opens up the option of having remote support from our installers.”
LOOKIN’ GOOD
For Kevin, being able to choose speakers with similar aesthetics and matching sound quality from the extensive Bose range was crucial. “We could get the same voicing and same look and feel of speaker no matter which size or mounting style we needed,” he observed. “In some of the smaller areas we have gone with the Bose DS16SE while in the larger areas where we needed a bit more power we chose DS40SE. They look almost identical, which made it a lot easier to fit with the décor. Aesthetics are really important when you’ve got five-star guests coming through. The DS Series fit in really well.”
In the function rooms, Kevin kept the entire installation network based, choosing AMX NMX-1000 series encoders and decoders to provide input plates and receivers for both the Maxell ceiling projectors and the Panasonic trolley-mounted monitors. “We wanted to keep everything networkable and flexible for scalability,” he said. “Venues like this get asked for some pretty funky requirements from time to time and using a networkable video source and audio source just gives them that flexibility to change things up.”
CONTROL SIMPLICITY
Making sure the control systems are intuitive is a key requirement. The ubiquitous Chris Duckworth created a very elegant and easy to use UI on the AMX touch panels. Wheel in a monitor and plug it in to the system and a button will appear allowing source switching. When the monitor is removed, the button disappears, keeping the interface simple and easily understood by staff and clients alike.
The simplicity is something IT Manager Craig appreciates. “[With our old system] if we had an event going on we’d have an Event Coordinator to help people with the equipment. Now you can literally give a client a five minute run through and they can do it themselves – you don’t need someone dedicated there to control the equipment.”
Craig is delighted with the NQAV installation. “We had a very outmoded system that dated from the original resort,” he summarised. “We were looking for something that would last long term. And we needed something more professional, with a much cleaner, crisper sound. I think with the Bose system we’ve got that.”
EQUIPMENT LIST
Background Music System
DSP:
Bose ESP1240 ×2
Bose ESP1DANTE ×2
Speakers:
Bose DS16SW ×9
Bose DS16FW ×20
Bose DS40SEW ×26
Bose DS40SEB ×6
Bose DS40FW ×17
Bose DS40FB ×6
Amplifiers:
Bose PM4250N ×10
Bose PMDANTE ×10
Bose ZA 190-HZ ×2
Input Plates:
Bose WP22BU-D ×12
Bose EP22-D ×3
Control System:
AMX NX-1200 ×2
AMX MSD-701-L ×10
Function Rooms
Video over IP:
AMX NMX-ENC-N1115-WP ×9
AMX NMX-ENC-N1122A ×1
AMX NMX-DEC-N1122A ×6
Switches:
Cisco SG350-26-P ×2
Cisco SG350-10-P ×9
Monitors:
Panasonic TH-55LFEW ×4
Panasonic TH-55LFV6W ×4
Projectors:
Hitachi CPWU8700W ×2
Hitachi SL712 ×2
Screens:
Grandview GRIP180C ×1
Grandview GRIP150C ×1
PJ Lifts:
Screen Technologies 143060CX ×2
Microphones:
Sennheiser SKM100 Handheld Set ×3
Sennheiser SK100 Lapel Set ×2
Outdoor Shows:
Shure BLX14RS Headworn Kit ×3
Shure UA844+SWB ×1
Shure UA850 ×1
RESPONSES