TEXAS – FEBRUARY 2013: Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille truly is rare and well done. From its humble beginnings as a butcher shop more than thirty years ago, Perry’s has grown to become one of the premier steakhouses in Texas. Today with nine locations, each uniquely customized to the neighboring community, Perry’s Steakhouse is located in greater Houston, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio.
One of the premier A/V integration firms in Central Texas, Intelligent Lighting Services, has designed and installed state-of-the-art sound systems in the most recent Perry’s Steakhouse locations. Intelligent Lighting Services’ Eric Bernstein recommended Ashly’s ne8250pe eight-channel Network Amp with integrated Protea™ signal processor for the Katy, Dallas and San Antonio restaurants.
“I was already looking to make some changes after the first installation at Austin because the big-name DSP we installed there seemed to time-out every other day,” explained Bernstein. “I’d had previous good experiences with Ashly gear and knew that it was reliable. Since I already knew we’d be using Tannoy CMS801 ceiling-mounted loudspeakers, I had my tech wire up an Ashly ne8250 amplifier and another from the manufacturer we had used at the first location. I did a blind comparison in controlled conditions and came away convinced that their clientele would hear no perceptible difference, at least with those loudspeakers. So there it was: an affordable, great-sounding amplifier with optional on-board DSP that I knew was flexible and reliable. And to top it off, Ashly is a nice, contractor-friendly manufacturer. We went forward in the next three locations – Dallas, San Antonio, and Katy, Texas – with the Ashly ne8250pe at the heart of the design.”
Because ambient live music is an integral part of the Perry’s experience, all three locations feature an Allen & Heath console adjoining a modest stage. Its output joins a handful of cable TV channels, a Muzak player, and a wireless microphone at the input to the Ashly Protea DSP environment. Because each of the Perry’s Steakhouse locations is unique, the Dallas location uses four Ashly ne8250pe eight-channel amplifiers, whereas San Antonio and Katy use three. The Ashly Protea DSP Matrix Mixer is used as a room combiner in the private dining rooms, allowing the restaurant to host any size dinner meeting or event. Other common zones include the bar area, lobby, hallways, restrooms, entry, patio plus four or five private dining rooms. Because the Ashly ne8250pe includes separate processing on each output, Bernstein was able to perfectly signal align all of the zones for maximum impact and coherence.
User control is simple. At the Dallas and Katy locations, each zone features a Ashly WR-5 programmable wall-mounted remote. Its simple push buttons allow selection of different input sources and overall volume. The San Antonio location adds a URC KP-4000 wired controller behind the bar for more in-depth control, along with a URC MX-5000 wireless remote that allows the manager to make changes on the fly from any location.
Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille is currently considering new location sites. Because the owner has fallen in love with the sound of the newest restaurants and the way his team is able to so easily control them, Bernstein’s Ashly-based design will serve as the blueprint for all future Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille locations moving forward.
ABOUT ASHLY AUDIO Ashly Audio Inc. is recognized as a world leader in the design and manufacturing of high quality & high performance signal processing equipment and power amplification for use in the commercial sound contracting and professional audio markets. The 37-year old company is headquartered in Webster, New York U.S.A.
