London’s Mayfair district is the home to Aura Kitchen and Bar (opened in 2003, pictured), which is reportedly the first boutique bar/club to receive a custom ATC (Acoustic Transducer Company) speaker system. Based on the UK manufacturer’s SCM300 studio monitors, the fully active loudspeaker systems at Aura have been delivered in four custom-designed towers that have been specially finished to match their up-market surroundings.
Aura’s three-way, fully active ATC speaker systems are based on the company’s top-of-the-line SCM300 monitors, with an additional 15-inch subwoofer. Each speaker tower, designed to fit into a small footprint, incorporates a pair of ATC Super Linear 15-inch drivers, a single 3-inch soft-dome mid-range driver and a 1.25-inch fabric-dome tweeter, and is paired with an active 15-inch subwoofer in a sealed enclosure. Eight additional 15-inch passive bass-reflex subwoofers are built into the venue’s banquet seating.
Each main tower, which individually offer ±80 degrees of horizontal, coherent dispersion with ±10 degrees in the vertical plane, is powered by ATC 3-channel Class-A/B amplifiers, which deliver 275W into each bass driver, 200W into the midrange and 100W to the tweeter, and are capable of a maximum SPL of 120 dB. All amplifier channels feature active momentary gain reduction. Crossover frequencies are set at 380 Hz and 3.5 kHz. An ATC 600W amplifier drives each of the four subwoofers.
Flown loudspeakers would not have matched Aura’s interior décor, which captures the ambience of the New York lounge scene with comfortable furnishings, tinted mirrors, themed color schemes, subtle lighting and crystal chandeliers that previously lit the ballroom at the nearby Claridges Hotel. The ATC speakers were placed as floor-standing towers that are finished in striking piano black lacquer with aluminum detailing.
For more information, please visit ATC’s U.S. distributor, LasVegasPro Audio at www.lasvegasproaudio.com.
