The product of a complete renovation and remodeling on the site of an old restaurant near Orland Park Mall in suburban Chicago, the Square Celt Alehouse and Grill features an extensive Martin Audio sound system courtesy of Encompass AV.
A popular sports bar, restaurant and part-time club destination, the Square Celt is run by a family that owns seven other Irish-themed bar/restaurants around Chicago, all known for exceptional audio and video capability.
Encompass AV President Tim Pickett describes the layout: “There are two major rooms, a large bar area, and a dining room with another big bar and lots of booths with tables. We were tasked with providing the sound and video systems, as well as security cameras and some of the architectural lighting.
“The owners insisted on Martin Audio from the get-go because they wanted a very high quality sound that was reliable and would last,” Tim explains.
“We used 26 Martin Audio AQ8’s mounted on the walls and beams throughout the site. The whole place has lowered ceilings with lots of trim, soffits and beams to give it the feel of an old Irish pub. We mounted the speakers strategically in the best places we could put them for optimal sound quality.
“There are also two AQ28s where the owners planned a dance area in the main dining room. We supplemented those with two AQ210 subs plus two F12+ and four S15+ subs for maximum low energy reinforcement in that area. They bring in a DJ on Friday and Saturday nights, so they wanted the place to have a nightlife with a system they could crank up and really feel the music, which we accomplished with the Martin Audio subs.”
The audio system also includes Lab Gruppen E12:2 and E4:2 power amplifiers along with Symetrix Jupiter 8 standalone DSP processing. Square Celt’s expansive video system, so critical to any modern sports bar, starts with a four-panel video wall consisting of large Philips 55” displays in the bar/dining room and an eight-panel video wall made up of Philips 46” displays in the bar area. There are also 14 Sharp 70” displays and 16 55” LG displays with the whole system run by a Vivitek D5190HD 1080p 3D multimedia projector.
Summing up the audio system’s impact, Tim adds, “The owners think the sound is ‘even, clean and crisp.’ They definitely got more than they expected with Martin Audio and it’s flexible enough to give them everything they need in terms of volume, coverage and sound quality. Plus the system is easily capable of transforming the dance area into a real nightclub just by cranking up the volume. They couldn’t be any happier with the choice they’ve made.”
For more about Martin Audio, please click to www.martin-audio.com.
About Martin Audio®
Founded by audio engineer David Martin in 1971, Martin Audio pioneered the use of all-horn-loaded bass designs in world-class touring loudspeaker systems for groups such as Pink Floyd, ELP and Supertramp. Located outside of London, Martin Audio now embodies a sophisticated mix of acoustic design, research, mathematical modeling and software engineering for a wide range of products in the installation, cinema and touring sound markets.
