LONDON, United Kingdom – Are you ready for a brand new beat? Club-goers around the world are dancing to the sounds of HARMAN's JBL Marquis Dance Club Series loudspeakers, created to bring a new level of sonic excellence to clubs everywhere. The Marquis Dance Club Series incorporates exclusive driver configurations and a choice of modular and full-range enclosure designs to deliver powerful, immersive sound without breaking a sweat, even at higher volume levels.
JBL Marquis Dance Club Series speakers have been adopted in a number of clubs worldwide. Three notable installations include the Blue Martini in Las Vegas, Nevada, Boogie Nights in Moorestown, New Jersey and Club MUTE in Seoul, South Korea.
The Blue Martini was voted to have Las Vegas' best happy hour and keeps the party going with its JBL Marquis Dance Club Series loudspeakers, which are used for both DJ music and live bands. “The JBL Marquis loudspeakers are equally adept at DJ and live sound,” said Lord Toussaint of Miami, Florida systems integrator Infinite Audio Systems (www.goinfinite.com). “That's because they're high-output, wide-bandwidth speakers that will work with any music source.”
The Blue Martini system is comprised of four Marquis Series MD49 quad-amplified high-power 4-way loudspeakers complemented by two AM7215/95 high-power 2-way speakers. All are driven by Crown Audio CDi Series power amplifiers. “One of the key features of the MD49 is its rotatable midrange/high-frequency waveguide assembly, which enabled the speakers to be hung horizontally from the ceiling,” Toussaint pointed out. “We needed to do this because of sight line and architectural considerations and the MD49 was absolutely perfect for the application.”
“The MD49's are quad-amplified and we're running separate amps to the woofers, midrange, high-frequency and super tweeters, which gives incredibly clear, powerful and articulate sound that can handle anything the live bands or the DJs can throw at the speakers,” Toussaint added.
When Atlantic City's Tropicana Casino and Resort renovated a section of its space into the Boogie Nights '70s and ‘80s retro-themed dance club, they knew they needed a sound system that could accommodate an out of the ordinary situation. The club comprises a long space situated adjacent to the casino floor and is separated into three discreet sections: the club area, bar area and lounge. The challenge was to provide dance club-quality sound and volume levels within the dance club area while minimizing bleed-over into the casino area.
For the club area, New Jersey-based sound contractor Starlite Productions hung four JBL MD49 speakers and four MD7 dual 18-inch subwoofers and aimed them to cover the dance floor from all sides while providing stereo imaging from any area on the dance floor. The speakers are positioned around the perimeter of a large circular truss about 30 feet in diameter, suspended 20 feet above the dance floor. This allows dancers to enjoy the full impact of the music, yet people can step outside the circle and talk without interference from the high output levels of the speakers. There are also 10 MD55 loudspeakers throughout the bar and lounge.
“Starlite did a fantastic job, especially since the installation space was very challenging,” said David Peña, Owner of Boogie Nights. “Since the club is a transformation of a huge open space, it was a difficult room to fill evenly with sound. The system is incredible! Customers constantly comment on how impressed they are and how clean it sounds.”
It's hard not to walk into Seoul, South Korea's Club MUTE without doing a double-take, as the décor is breathtakingly distinctive, with sculptured ceiling panels, diamond-shaped wall detailing accented by inset lights, hourglass-shaped seating and curved metalwork. Even the DJ booth is unique, looking like a giant futuristic birdcage.
A special space like Club MUTE deserved a special sound system—and the Marquis Dance Club Series provided just that! The club features an all-out JBL Marquis Dance Club Series setup that includes two MD1 ultra-high-frequency modules, two MD2 mid/high-frequency modules, four MD3 low-frequency modules and four MD46 quad-amplified full-range speakers. The speakers are hung in two main clusters at the left and the right of the DJ booth. In addition, two JBL ASB7128 subwoofers, two MRX515 loudspeakers and a PRX612M stage monitor are deployed throughout the club and in the DJ booth. The speakers are powered by a variety of Crown amplifiers.
HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.