MSL revamps Essex’s popular nightclub with brand-new audio system

Thirteen years since its last refurbishment, club owner, John Clark, was keen to move away from its dated interior: “Lockdown has been particularly hard on nightclubs, as Faces was shut from the 23 March 2020 to July 2021. It was during this time that I decided to refurbish the club, giving it a completely new look and feel.

“Using MSL we were able to design a new sound, lighting, laser and visual experience to take us forward into a new era.” MSL has been involved with the venue since its onset back in 1993, so when the team were approached by John about the upgrade, they were keen to get involved. “We were approached by John to have a meeting and discuss the new layout of the club. We bounced a few ideas off each other and a new concept and design was quickly realised. We were then asked to supply all elements of the venue’s audio-visual systems,” explained Toby Jones, Audio-visual Designer at MSL.

The JBL Professional sound system inside Faces had served its time well, and the venue wanted to shift to a new, multi-zone setup with an easy-to-use, touchscreen interfaced system that would have the ability to control both the audio and video source selection. MSL designed the system so that it was split into seven zones, with each having multiple top boxes with subwoofers for the low frequency extension.

In the reception area, MSL installed two KV2 Audio ESD5 two-way loudspeakers and a single ESD1.10 10-inch passive subwoofer. The front audio zones each have four independent ESD25 loudspeakers and a single ESD1.12 subwoofer for low frequency extensions. In the rear seating zone surrounding the dance floor, MSL supplied eight ESD25s, along with two ESD1.12 subwoofers. “We wanted to supply KV2, having used these boxes in other venues. We knew they’d be perfect for the job, and after carrying out a demo live in the venue, John took an instant liking to them,” furthered Toby.

Installed on the main dancefloor are four KV2 Audio ESD12 12-inch two-way top boxes with four single ESD1.18 subwoofers clustered in the middle at the back of the dance floor. The DJ booth is served with two ESD10 two-way loudspeakers and a single ESD1.12 subwoofer for DJ monitoring. “The whole system sounds incredible. There’s so much definition with no distortion - something that KV2 pride themselves on,” said Toby. 

With its brand-new audio-visual systems, Faces is ready to welcome back guests after a turbulent year for hospitality. With nightlife previously on hold, the club couldn’t showcase its refurbished systems and brand-new look that foreshadows a new era of the Faces experience. “This was a great project that allowed us to enhance a staple of the Essex nightlife scene with some outstanding audio-visual technology,” concluded Toby. “The feedback from the venue owner and those that have attended the club has been incredible! We look forward to working on more nightlife projects as business starts to reopen.”

Sound system setup

• 2x ESD5
• 23x ESD25
• 2x ESD10
• 4x ESD12
• 1x ESD1.10
• 6x ESD1.12
• 4x ESD1.18

Source: Mondo*dr (edited)