LEXY - the new star on the Swiss-Club firmament

LEXY business directors, Dejan Radojevic and Mario Egloff had a clear vision and strategy. Whereas other establishments placed their emphasis on extravagant interiors and lighting systems, the LEXY should excel through the quality of its music and the sound. To make way for the LEXY the earlier and well known Latin-Palace had to be gutted, exposing many constructional and acoustic challenges.

Acoustics

Merki Music the acoustics specialists were given the task of designing the acoustic treatments required to bring the difficult conditions in the LEXY under control and to create a balanced and professional listening environment. Initial measurements revealed reverberation times of up to (RT60) 1.8 seconds, making it necessary to employ absorbers with a large surface area

In order to control the range of frequencies from deep bass up to the lower mids, Merki Music chose to employ specially designed Helmholz resonators which together with the interior designers Dyersmith-Frey were carefully woven into the design of the club.

The walls were clad with a sandwich of up to 50cm mineral wool and covered with a complex lattice of  fireproof slot resonator panels, including a system of LED lighting strips that were carefully integrated into them.

In order to control the higher frequencies and to further reduce reverberation times a checkerboard system of panels made from recycled materials were mounted on the ceiling.

Final measurements revealed that the acoustic treatments had acheived the desired results as can be seen in the following graphic. The overall reverberation times had been reduced by up to 70% and the excitation of the concrete structures had been suitably dampened. In order to reduce room resonances the subwoofers were treated with Vibrasyl mats which attenuate conducted waves at around 8Hz. The massive concrete DJ podium was decoupled in a similar fashion in order to prevent feedback via the record decks. The ceiling mounted loudspeakers were decoupled with the help of rubberised mountings.

Audio

In terms of the audio design, Plusmusic AG in Dietikon was responsible for the choice and the positioning of the KV2 audio components that are responsible for the outstanding sound in LEXY. The limited room height of around 240cm left no other choice but to use horizontally mounted ESD36 loudspeakers, 4 units for the inner and 6 units for the outer areas. Four ESD1.18 loudspeakers were arranged as a horizontal mono cluster in order to provide a solid low end delivery and reduce the effects of fundamental cancellation.  Six ESD6 loudspeakers provide coverage in the bar area. Additionally, two EX12 plus one EX1.5 provide quality monitoring facilities for the DJ area.

For the overall signal amplification and signal processing the KV2 line-up is as follows:- ESP2000 and ESP4000 amplifiers, two SAC2 used as crossovers at 120Hz and a SDD3 for the delays.

Lighting

Conceptually the lighting was reduced to the absolute minimum required to be within the context of the interior design and to meet the customer's requirements. Due to the increasing economies of scale, around 400 metres of RGB LED strips were integrated in the acoustic wall cladding, together with 6 Beambars from Briteq. A DMX lighting control system using eCue software was installed in the DJ area.

Summary

Client             Club 84 Gmbh
Planning        Dyersmith-Frey
Acoustics       Merki Music
Audio             Plusmusic AG: KV2 Audio
Lighting          Plusmusic AG: Briteq, JBSYSTEMS, eCue
Installation Merki Music

Audio system:           

• 10 x KV2 Audio ESD36
• 4 x KV2 Audio ESD1.18
• 6 x KV2 Audio ESD6 
• 2 x KV2 Audio EX12      
• 4 x KV2 Audio ESP4000
• 4 x KV2 Audio ESP2000    
• 3 x KV2 Audio SAC2    
• 1 x KV2 Audio SDD3               

Light:

• JBSYSTEMS FS60-RGB-5050-5M
• JBSYSTEMS MINI LED MANAGER MK3
• JBSYSTEMS BEAMBAR10-RGBW
• Look Unique Hazer
• eCue Buttler and Software