Formerly known as “Joey’s Night Club,” Bliss (Clifton, N.J.; www.blisslounge.net/) was completely renovated before reopening, with design by Pedro Pons and lighting by Dougie Lazer. As described by Joe Lodi, owner and chief designer of Advanced Audio Technology (www.advancedaudiotechnology.com), the old sound system comprised “a large number of primitive boxes, each the size of a refrigerator and with the sound quality of an AM radio.” Lodi and his partner and head of installation, Angelo Poulos, designed and installed the new sound system, which includes eight TA-500 and eight TSW-218 Turbosound Aspect Series loudspeakers and subwoofers.
“We chose to install the Turbosound Aspect TA-500s and TSW-218s based on the owner’s description of the very high-end talent that would be playing at Bliss and his overall business plan,” explains Lodi. “The system that we designed could have done a club twice the size of Bliss, but we believe strongly in having ample headroom for any situation.”
The dancefloor at Bliss is 40×60 feet with 16-foot ceilings. Lodi positioned four Turbosound TA-500s on each side of the dancefloor across its length, about 12 feet off the ground and pitched down 30 degrees. Each TA-500 comprises a 15-inch low-frequency horn, a 10-inch mid-frequency horn and a 2-inch high-frequency horn. Both the mid- and high-frequency horns employ Turbosound’s patented Polyhorn system, which comprises equal-path-length, multi-section waveguides that ensure precise phase coherence. Lodi topped off the high end with four custom EAW slot tweeter arrays, which were positioned slightly in front of the TA-500s and correspondingly delayed.
Lodi chose to amplify the Turbosound TA-500s and EAW slot tweeters with MC2 amplifiers because he feels they have smooth midrange and punchy bass that highlights the speakers’ musical response. He used two E15, 1,500-watt amplifiers to power the slot tweeters and the 2-inch high frequencies separately; two E25 2,500W amplifiers to power the 10-inch mid-drivers together; and one E45 4,500W amplifier to power the 15-inch low-frequency drivers. Two XTA DP226 units provide loudspeaker system processing and control.
For additional information, visit www.turbosound.com.
