Irish bars champion Void Acoustics

As Ireland starts to ease out of lockdown 2.0, there are three refurbished bars around the country which are match-ready to welcome customers back. Owners Shane Clifford, Declan Murphy and Hugh O’Farrell have upgraded their bars Bonobo, Impala and Caribou to incorporate high quality Void Acoustics systems throughout.

Ed Rice from Sounds Good Systems was appointed by Shane, Declan and Hugh as the specifier and integrator for these exciting refurbishments. As sole distributor in Ireland for Void Acoustics for over eight years, Ed was in the perfect position to specify high-end audio solutions to match the exacting brief in order to offer the perfectly stylish and ambient audio systems required at each venue.

Bonobo, Impala and Caribou bars, located in Dublin, Cork and Galway respectively were all, by their owners’ admission ‘rather tired old bars’ which needed completely renovating and upgrading in order to provide engaging spaces, each with their own unique style and offer, but with the common aim of providing great meeting spaces for the young communities in each city. Bonobo in Dublin offers a wide variety of craft beers with a curated music selection, massive outdoor space and world class pizza. Impala Bar in Cork is an award-winning craft bar with an inviting outdoor space at the front and back of the venue and a curated music selection. And Caribou Bar in Galway is another award-winning craft bar with great outdoor spaces and appealing bar food.

The brief supplied was precise. Each bar required high quality zoned sound systems, which were easy to operate and with even coverage across all spaces. Alongside this the audio systems needed to be able to facilitate an occasional DJ set, and offer appropriate audio solutions for big screen usage. The owners wanted the systems to look good and most importantly required systems providing long-term reliability.

Ed happily took on the brief, in the certain knowledge that Void has products which would be fit for purpose. “I knew Void was the solution for all these bars. Void Acoustics offers a massive range of speakers to suit all applications inside or outdoors with endless choices of colour and finishes to keep designers, architects and venue operators happy. And because we were also supplying lighting and individual AV requirements for each bar, we were able to treat each venue as a turn key project where it all works seamlessly together.” His assumption was correct and despite each bar having varying numbers of spaces and unique requirements, the bar operators chose Void systems to be installed at all three venues based on sound quality, reliability and value.

Six zones of Void Acoustic systems were installed into Bonobo and Impala Bars, featuring Venu 6. “In my opinion the Venu 6 is the perfect speaker for stylish bar settings” states Ed.“For Impala I went all out, and specified a Venu 6 and Venu bass system with Cyclone 55 out front alongside an Indigo 6s for the snug. The beer garden even has a Venu 6 mounted under a bulkhead so it is safely out of the direct rain,” he continues.

Caribou is the most recent refurb and is the first installation in Ireland of the new Venu 8 v2. Here, two zones of Venu 8 v2 and Venu 112 have been installed in both inside zones to accommodate regular DJ bookings and to ensure continuity throughout the venue. The initial install is subsequently going to be supplemented by Cyclone 55’s at the front of the bar and on the rear terrace.

All Venu systems are supported by Void’s Bias Q2 amplifier systems.

Ed is quite clear why Void Acoustics systems answered the requirements for the three bars. “I specified Venu 6 and Venu bass for Impala and Bonobo as they offered my clients the best balance between size/price/sonic performance for their venues. These systems really are hard to beat. They offer amazing sound in a fairly compact box and when the Venu 6 is combined with Venu bass they cover all uses in bars of the size and style of Impala and Bonobo. In addition to which, with Caribou planning on running a lot of DJs, Void have the range of products to suit perfectly with Venu 8 so that is what we have installed there.”

Whilst he is thrilled with the overall refurb, co-owner of the bars, Shane Clifford is particularly pleased with the quality and impact of the audio installation provided by the Void Acoustics systems. “To put it simply, Void Acoustics are the best systems” he enthuses. “The success of our bars depends upon our ability to provide the best atmosphere to encourage a busy through flow of clientele. The single best way to do this is with the music we play…so we have to have the best equipment in order to maximise that key element of our offer.”

Josh Pearce, EMEA Account Manager for Void Acoustics was also on hand to provide support to Ed. “Ed is dedicated to quality audio, he has a professional approach, and is a great brand ambassador for Void Acoustics across Ireland. Void’s reputation and presence in Ireland is pretty much down to Ed’s hard work since he first familiarised himself with our brand” observes Josh.

“And because of Ed’s extensive knowledge and depth understanding of Void Acoustics products, he works closely with each customer to understand their requirements, before recommending the most suitable audio spec to ensure it is fit for purpose and perfectly suits each application. Of course, we are always on hand to provide additional support and advice. All in all, it’s an ideal manufacturer-distributor set up!”

Shane and his co-owners couldn’t be more complimentary about the service provided by Ed and his team at Sounds Good Systems. “Over the years we have dealt with a number of audio companies, and the service offered by Ed at Sounds Good Systems, and the team at Void Acoustics is incredible. When we first heard a Void system in another bar in Dublin, we knew it was the solution we were looking for with our bars. I’m certain that I’ve driven Ed around the twist on occasion but it’s because we want to achieve the highest quality audio solution possible. And no matter what, Ed has been on hand to help us achieve this. Our expectations were managed every step of the way and we are completely satisfied with the end result.”

And as another customer walks through the doors Shane continues with a smile. “We couldn’t be more delighted with the final outcome in each venue. We are here on standby with phenomenal playlists and a state-of-the-art sound system in each bar to welcome our customers back and provide them with the best experience possible.”

Bonobo

• 6 Zones of Void Acoustics
• 14 Venu 6
• 6 Venu bass
• 3 Cirrus 6.1
• 3 Bias Q2
• 1 Cloud Z8
• 1 12u rack with power distro

Impala Bar

• 6 Zones of Void Acoustics
• 10 Venu 6
• 4 Venu bass
• 2 Cyclone 55
• 1 Indigo 6s
• 2 Bias Q2
• 1 Cloud Z8
• 1 12u rack with power distro

Caribou Bar

• 2 Zones of Void Acoustics
• 8 Venu 8 v2
• 4 Venu 112 bass
• 1 Bias Q2
• 1 Cloud Z4