Conveniently located in downtown Miami, Gale Hotel Miami is a 51-story architectural landmark offering an innovative blend of boutique hotel comfort, upscale condo living, and culinary haven, complemented by a wellness center complete with a spa and gym — all within a stone’s throw of the Magic City’s most exhilarating attractions. Guests can indulge in a variety of dining experiences on the 9th floor, offering breathtaking vistas of Biscayne Bay and the iconic Miami skyline. Or take advantage of the Pool Club, which offers a stunning outdoor pool oasis accompanied by a chic restaurant where guests can enjoy Miami-inspired cuisine.
Four years in the making, Gale Hotel Miami hired Interlink Group to design the audio systems for the two restaurants on the 1st floor and the three restaurants on the 9th floor. Interlink, in turn, partnered with Designer Digital Systems, Inc., to design the sound system, build the racks, and program the system. With space for only one full-sized rack on the 9th floor and one in the mezzanine MDF room, and requirements to power many speakers at high SPL for parties, amplifier size and power were major considerations. LEA Professional amplifiers were a perfect fit for the project.
“The project developer wanted great sound, reliability, and a fair price,” said Bruce J. Alaimo, owner of Designer Digital Systems, Inc. “They had a design from a different company that was much more expensive. I immediately thought of LEA amps for our new design. I planned on using a variety of speakers from major brands, and LEA had speaker tunings for all of them, which made it a lot easier.”
Designer Digital Systems, Inc., deployed 13 Connect Series 704 amplifiers to power the venue’s varied speakers. The IoT-enabled 4-channel 704 provides 700 watts per channel, supports Hi-Z (70V or 100V) and Lo-Z selectable by channel, and features Smart Power Bridge technology. Connect Series also includes 96kHz DSP, which is standard in all models and offers a range of benefits that significantly enhance audio performance and system versatility.
Eight CS704 amplifiers power the three restaurants on the 9th floor (22,400 watts at 70V), while five CS704 amplifiers were installed in the mezzanine MDF room for the restaurants on the 1st floor (14,000 watts at 70V). Designer Digital Systems, Inc., chose LEA amplifiers due to their size-to-power ratio (1RU with 2,800 watts per amplifier), as well as the flexibility of full DSP for crossover and speaker tuning of all major brands. The Smart Power Bridge technology was utilized in an innovative manner to overcome a drywall installation error that caused a short, enabling the team to drive two speakers at 1400 watts at 70V. In essence, this feature, performance, and system versatility saved a main zone in the 1st floor restaurant.
The Connect Series delivers an industry-first professional amplifier family featuring cloud connectivity, a revolutionary advancement that provides a significant benefit for anyone maintaining the systems. With LEA Cloud, AV teams can remotely control and monitor amplifiers from anywhere, at any time. With no subscription model or hidden costs, it’s completely free to use.
The Gale Hotel in Miami blends contemporary elegance with cutting-edge technology, offering a chic urban retreat. Its sleek design features bespoke European furnishings and a state-of-the-art audio system befitting the property, enhancing the ambiance throughout.
“I really enjoy working with LEA amplifiers and the LEA tech support team,” said Alaimo. “I have used LEA amplifiers in many projects and look forward to working with them in many more projects in the future. They’re a great product with fabulous power offerings per rack space, full DSP, and best of all, great people. I highly recommend them.”
