Thank you for the Music

We have moved this content to and added more content on our new website:

www.cga-integration.co.uk

Great News! English, Scottish and Northern Ireland hospitality venues are able to reopen their doors from July.  After three months of Lockdown this is brilliant news, but if you have a music system, didn't the government say that venues are no longer allowed to play music?

That’s not true!

You are not allowed to stage live music performances, open mic nights, comedy or drama, but music to create an atmosphere in your venue is still permissible and arguably now more important than ever.  

You can’t have incredibly loud music, as we still need to observe some level of social distancing and this would cause guests to have to shout to make themselves heard; Shouting, singing and chanting all increase the risk of aerosol transmission, which is how COVID -19 is spread, so you need to get the audio levels just right to aid the safe reopening of your venue.

If you are concerned about certain members of staff turning up the level of your sound system or even regulating your own passion for music, CGA can limit the power available on your system so that levels cannot go too high.

Now, more than ever, it is key to have your venue sounding great, opening with no sound or poor sound could further damage the ambience of your venue.  Some customers will be emerging from Lockdown very tentatively.  They have been safely cocooned in their homes with familiar sights, smells and sounds and when they return to the warmth of their favourite hospitality venue they will find it changed.  With venues only being able to operate at  ⅓ to ½ of their pre-COVID capacity, the atmosphere will be very different.  

So now is your chance to really show off your sound system!  Numerous small speakers carefully spread throughout a venue will create a lovely consistent, low level all surrounding sound, that will help to fill in the gaps generated by reduced capacity and make all your guests still feel right at home.

If you have any specific questions regarding how we can help with your sound system please get in touch.

CGA Integration … Making hospitality sound great!

Size is not everything!

We have moved this content to and added more content on our new website:

www.cga-integration.co.uk

“Wow look at that speaker! We’re not a nightclub!!!”

I have heard this and similar comments time and again when designing a sound

system for a client for the first time.  A regular misconception is that the physical

size of a speaker is directly proportional to the volume or loudness of the sound

system, but that is generally not the case.

It’s true that you will need larger speakers to produce sound for a live concert

than you would need to install in a restaurant, but as sound gets quieter, there

is a minimum speaker size that you will reach, after which you start

compromising on sound quality.

Sound reproduction is all about moving air particles or vibrations.  In a

loudspeaker an electromagnet is attached to a cone which amplifies these

vibrations as it moves forwards and backwards, making sound waves in the

surrounding air and pumping them towards your ears.

So how do we hear music which is made up of lots of different sounds? Without

going too deeply into the science behind this, the frequency of the vibrations

(the number of sound waves that go past a fixed point say every second)

governs the pitch of the sound produced.  To faithfully reproduce all the

different frequencies of sound in a piece of music, good quality speakers use

different sized cones dedicated to high, medium and low frequencies, hence

the need for a minimum sized speaker to accommodate these. Generally in

each speaker cabinet there will be a bass driver (for low frequency sound

waves) and tweeter (for high frequency sound waves) and these will ensure

that sound from all frequencies is covered.

High frequency sound waves generate small movements of a small loudspeaker

surface area (the smaller tweeter cone) and lower frequency sound generate

large movements of a large surface area (the larger bass driver cone).  Basically

the lower the pitch of the sounds you want to replicate, the larger the surface

area of the cone and the larger the cubic volume of the speaker box you will need.

Sound volume (measured in decibels) is actually down to the amplitude of the

sound waves.  The amplitude of a sound wave (or the maximum distance moved),

is a reflection of how much energy it carries, the more energy it has the more air

particles that are moved for longer and the greater the sound we hear.

So, if you want a warm and full sound system throughout all the areas of your

venue, then you will need to have enough surface area of loudspeakers to excite

the air in the space and enough cubic volume of speaker cabinets to enable a

warm and comfortable sound to be generated in all areas.  This will be delivered

through a combination of; the right number of speakers of the right size installed

in the right locations.

Here at CGA Integration we generally use the smallest speaker cabinet required

to deliver a good full range sound in the required space, often in many multiples

to ensure that the distance from the customer to the speakers remains as

constant as possible as they move around the space.  This is explained in

"why so many speakers?!" on the CGA Blog.

Here you will find lots of articles dealing with speaker solutions including

“design led sound solutions” where we explain how to minimise the visual impact

of speakers whilst still generating superior sound & “speaker location; a sound delivery”

which considers the different types of speakers available and where they can be

installed for maximum audio effect.

To sum everything up, if speakers are too small or too few are used, this can

lead to issues in sound reproduction and quality, which will affect the

ambience of your venue.  Just remember, your AV design is created that way

or a reason, as “you cannot change the laws of physics!”

Audio Myths and Legends... busted!

We have moved this content to and added more content on our new website:

www.cga-integration.co.uk

Over the years that I’ve worked in the Hospitality sector there are some statements that I hear time and time again, ‘myths and legends’ of AV that are passed on and often never questioned.  So I’ve decided to address a few of them, the ones that I hear most often, and hope that after you’ve read this you might look at your AV in a whole new light!

More speakers just =  louder sound

In the hospitality sector, our aim is to deliver a consistent guest experience, one which reflects your Brand and encourages repeat visits to your venue, or other venues within your group.  All your diners receive the same quality food & service, so all guests should receive the same quality audio. However, this is so often not the case.

If only a few speakers are fitted, this will lead to audio ‘hot and cold’ spots within a venue.  Taking the dining analogy, proximity to speakers will either make your guests dining experiences ‘loud’, if seated near to a speaker, or quiet for those seated further away.  You wouldn’t have areas of your dining room lit and areas in darkness, so why should this be the case for sound?  

If you install numerous speakers running at a low level, this can create an even and all encompassing sound.  It’s not that more speakers just mean a louder sound, it means that they can create a more consistent sound.  By installing a sound system in this way it will surround your guests, acting as an extension to your lighting and decor, to complement the food and service you offer.

Speakers are black and ugly

Speakers now come in a variety of sizes, colours and finishes.  Some speakers are even invisible and for those that are not, they can be sprayed in any RAL colour to exactly match your decor.  CGA like to get involved as early as possible in the design process to ensure that, where possible, speakers are integrated and hidden.  We can offer plaster in “invisible speakers” and have even installed these behind a gold leaf to deliver both a five star sound and aesthetic!

If the sound system requires visible speakers, these can be colour coordinated with your design scheme.  CGA can finish most speakers to any RAL colour.  If the grill or even the speaker cabinet is visible, this can be the same colour as your ceiling or wall, or if desired they can be finished in a coordinated colour to match other design elements, to give a fully coordinated appearance.  So although speakers are also available in black, if this isn’t the colour of choice it’s really not an issue!

But the speakers in the restaurant next door are tiny!

The tiny domestic ‘design led’ speakers that you see dotted around in certain bars and restaurants are often favoured by designers, as they have minimum impact aesthetically, but these are actually only the visible part of a much bigger system. Their size might be attractive if you are trying to minimise any visual impact, but when you install small speakers such as these, they only reproduce mid and high-frequency sound.  To get a full range sound you will always need to add a complimentary larger cabinet, (or bass bin), to fill in the warm full bass and lower sound frequencies which these tiny speakers cannot reproduce.

These ‘bass bins’ as they are referred to are much harder to place in your venue, as they invariably create a bass ‘hot spot’. A salesman might state that “bass is Omni directional, you can put a bass bin anywhere.”  This is an accurate statement, bass sound does spread in all directions, but it spreads from the bass bin and similar to the example given above when we looked at speaker numbers, if you have a table next to the bass bin guests there will hear the bass much more than those at a table placed further away, resulting in each guest having a very different audio experience. There are ways to work with bass bins to try to mitigate this effect, but if you fitted slightly larger full range speakers instead, this will ensure that all of your guests receive the same audio experience and consistency of sound as they move through your venue.  As we have mentioned above, speakers now come in many different colours and finishes so their size really shouldn’t affect the aesthetics of your interior design!

Why have a music player, I can use my iPod or Spotify in the Bar

Whilst there are many legal pitfalls in this statement, even if you can address these, a portable music player or streamed music source will just offer inferior quality sound.

Many digital sound formats are very heavily compressed to allow sound files to be sent over the internet as fast and as easily as possible. Unfortunately, once compressed, much of the ‘dynamics’ and ‘excitement’ is lost from the music for ever, so even if you have the greatest sound system in the world, it will still sound flat and lifeless due to the poor quality of the source material.  Amplifiers do what their name suggests, they just amplify sound, what you put in is exactly what you get out, only louder! So if you use a poor quality music source, you just get loud, poor quality music.

In addition to this, if you do have a sound system which uses an iPod as a music source, there is always the concern over control.  You run the risk of staff using their iPods and playing music that they like to listen to, as opposed to playing the carefully selected music playlist that is right for your customers in your venue.

When choosing a music content provider, always talk to them about the file size and compression rates they use.  Ask them to explain and demonstrate the difference between the same track on a CD and on their music player to ensure that the music quality is right for you and your venue.  

There are some exciting new technologies now available such as the revolutionary new British technology MQA.  It is still a compressed music format, but MQA offers better time alignment which considerably improves the quality of the music output from compressed files.  Once it has passed through the MQA decoder in the sound system, the track is reproduced in the same quality as the sound recorded by the artist in the recording studio!  In a quality hospitality venue why would you settle for anything less?

I hope that I have succeeded in breaking down some long standing AV ‘myths and legends’.  Obviously, each venue and every room is different and each desires to create a unique experience for their clients. Here at CGA Integration we pride ourselves on understanding customer needs and striving to apply the best AV solution every time. Why not contact us to see how we can make your AV work better for you in your venue?

Come in, relax and make yourself at home …

We have moved this content to and added more content on our new website:

www.cga-integration.co.uk

Sound; the missing link in the sensory jigsaw:
Come in, relax and make yourself at home … how would you like your guests to feel when they think about visiting your venue?

In the Hospitality Industry we are all searching to make people feel as welcome and relaxed as possible.  Venues invest in exquisite decor, beautifully designed lighting schemes and specially selected staff, carefully trained to deliver outstanding customer service, but do you still find that not everyone can truly relax?  Some guests can remain on edge throughout their stay and fail to immerse themselves in the wonderful environment created around them.

Maybe sound is the missing link in the sensory jigsaw, the subconscious trigger in helping all your guests to truly relax.

Our hearing is so often the sense we take for granted.  Sound tends to just happen around us.  Familiar noises such as aeroplanes flying overhead, phones ringing, vacuum cleaners whirring, birds singing, children playing or people walking by, just become background noise.  It's often not until you stop and really listen that you can pick out each of these individual sounds.

Our bodies are in a neutral state around sounds that we are use to hearing, but if we are placed in an unfamiliar environment or situation with noises that we are not use to, our sense of hearing becomes heightened and our body becomes generally more alert.  This biological reaction links back to our inbuilt “Fight or Flight” response, which is designed to keep us safe.  As cavemen, our ancestors faced the regular question “should we stay and ward off this prehistoric predator or run as fast as we can to get away from it?”  Thankfully, we no longer generally face this kind of dilemma on a daily basis, but the inbuilt “Fight or Flight” response remains hard wired into our psyche.

Silence and sudden loud noises can often affect us in a similar way.  If we consider the natural world for a moment, predators are often met with an ‘alarm’ call to warn others in their group of impending danger and potentially scare off the intruder, in much the same way as the modern equivalent of a smoke detector, house or car alarm.  Conversely, potential prey can often remain still and silent to conceal their presence from a predator, which in turn heightens their other senses and prepares their bodies for ‘flight’.  These inbuilt behaviours remain part of us even today, so getting sound right for your guests is a crucial part in helping them to truly relax, even though they might not be able to tell you why!

Getting it right:
So how do you get it right?  This is not just about sound for sound’s sake, but about using sound in the right way to help change your guest’s opinions, from liking your venue into really loving it.

By eliminating unwanted noises, choosing a soundtrack to complement your Brand and delivering this through a well designed, expertly installed, flexible sound system, you can address the missing link in the sensory jigsaw.  This removes areas of silence, helps to reduce the inbuilt “Fight or Flight” response in us all and joins together all the other sensory messages experienced by your guests enabling them to truly relax.

Eliminating unwanted noises and reduce noise reflection:
Before you start adding sound to a space you need to consider noises which already exist or which can be heard from within that space, which might have a detrimental effect on your guests, for example noise from; traffic, open kitchens, doors slamming or phones ringing.  Ideally all these noises need to be diminished.

Stand and clap your hands in the space, think about how every noise will or will not be reflected throughout that area, if necessary add some sound absorbing surfaces to deaden these reflections so that you have as blank an acoustic canvas as possible to start painting your soundscape on.  To help, you can engage an acoustic environment consultant to measure the existing noise within the space.  They will then advise you on how to minimise noise and ‘audio bleed’ from other areas.

Choosing a soundtrack to complement your Brand:
Work with a music provider to ensure that the music you are playing complements and enhances your Brand.  Who are your guests? Does your offer change throughout the day? Indeed does your customer demographic change throughout the day? Your music content choice needs to reflect all of these variables.

A well designed, expertly installed, flexible sound system:
To generate the best sound, you need to ensure that the correct speakers and reproductive equipment are installed for your space.  Not every sound system will deliver the right sound. How you hear sound in a space changes considerably with decorative finishes and also once it is occupied.  A specialist sound system designer and installer will create the best sound system for your space, choosing and fitting the right equipment to deliver what you need it to do throughout the day, every day.

Once you have worked through the issue of unwanted noise & sound reflection and chosen the right music content, you may well find that the amount of music you have to add to a space is vastly reduced, as you are no longer competing with or trying to mask other sounds.

To find out if sound really is the missing link in your venue’s sensory jigsaw why not contact CGA Integration today and arrange a full AV review.  Help your guests to immerse themselves in your hospitality experience and truly relax.

Speaker Location; A Sound Delivery

We have moved this content to and added more content on our new website:

www.cga-integration.co.uk

Speaker Location; A Sound Delivery

Listen … what can you hear?  Very rarely will it be silence; there will always be a ticking clock, the rain pouring down, or the clicking of a computer keyboard.  Sound is everywhere; we are subjected to it continuously from the monument we wake up until the moment we fall asleep.

The effect of sound is often subliminal and as such, getting the audio right for your venue is a key factor in creating the ambience and mood you want to achieve for your guests. Deliver poor quality, inappropriate sound and people will always complain, get it right and it enhances the décor, service and experience of a venue, and customers will rarely remark.

So how do I deliver quality sound?

Delivering quality sound is down to what you play and how you play it.  The most carefully selected play list is useless unless the music is of the right quality, delivered through the correct hardware, which in turn needs to be expertly installed in the right position.

We have spoken about sound quality in other articles; ‘A sound decision’ http://www.cga-integration.co.uk/downloads/product_information/A%20sound%20decision%20music%20vs%20silence.pdf and ‘Using sound to differentiate your spa’  http://www.cga-integration.co.uk/downloads/product_information/Using%20Sound%20to%20Differentiate%20Your%20Spa.pdf so here we turn to sound positioning; where should the speakers go and why does this matter?

Getting the positioning right; the proximity effect

Obviously, the closer you are to a speaker, the louder any transmitted audio becomes.  However, a well designed sound system can help to balance how sound is delivered throughout a room, to minimise or completely avoid any ‘proximity effects’. 

Historically sound was delivered through speakers which were screwed onto the outside of walls in a room.  Not only was this often unsightly, but as sound was ‘squirted’ into the room, it remained loud in the immediate proximity of any speakers and quieter in the centre of the room.  In addition to this, as the sound waves converged in the centre of the room they worked against each other, and as such the quality of the sound here become ‘muddy’; unclear and undefined, creating a less than desirable experience for those in that area.

Ceiling Speakers

At CGA Integration we try, wherever possible, to use ceiling speakers in our designs and installation.  This enables us to create a grid of speakers to offer an even coverage of sound throughout a room.  As customer’s ears are always a constant distance from the ceiling and therefore from the speakers, (no matter how tall they are!), they will receive a consistent sound as they move throughout the room. In addition to this, mounting speakers on the same level within a ceiling gives you the hidden advantage of the speaker cones coupling, which gives greater efficiency and a theoretical large driver area which allows for increased bottom end sound throughout the room.

Speaker design
Although speaker technology as a whole has not evolved greatly in recent years, ceiling speaker design has been refined and it is now possible to generate a good quality, full warm sound from a ceiling speaker, without the need for a separate bass bin.  This will satisfy audio needs in most situations, but there are still areas where separate bass bins are required;

‘Party Level’ Audio

In bars and function rooms which demand ‘party level’ audio, separate bass bins are still required to deliver the sound level needed in these environments.  Bass may be ‘omni- directional, but bass bins need to be positioned to generate an even balance of sound throughout a room; otherwise they will generate the same proximity effect as badly positioned wall mounted speakers.  Ceiling mounted bass bins are now available which enables the bass to dissipate above the guests rather than be focused in one point at floor level, again minimising ‘proximity effects’.

Design led small speakers

Many designers request that we use tiny ceiling speakers which look chic and compact.  If this is the case, a ceiling mounted bass bin will also have to be factored into the audio design to ensure a full and warm sound.

Speakers need to be a certain size or diameter to enable all frequencies of sound to be projected into the room at a balanced usable volume.  If the size of the speakers is greatly reduced, separate bass bins are required to enable lower frequency sound waves to be amplified and transmitted.  Small speakers are great for personal use; one person listening to their headphones hears well balanced audio, but these same speakers can not be used to fill a room with well balanced sound, the result would be a very thin and tinny noise.

‘Invisible’ speakers

Speakers are now available to deliver sound in challenging areas.  CGA has designed and installed sound systems with invisible drive units which deliver quality sound through the following media;

• Plaster in plasterboard ceilings
• Wood panelling in wooden ceilings and walls
• Glass
• Sheet metal.

This enables superior sound to be delivered in areas such as spas, lift cars or highly design lead environments.

Again, due to the specialist nature of these units, separate bass bins will need to be factored into the audio design in these areas to generate a fully balanced audio.

Always start early

If you are refurbishing or building a new area within your venue it is always worth considering your audio needs early on within a project.  By factoring audio requirements in at the design stage, the best possible sound system can be designed for you, which will blend seamlessly with the rest of the décor within a room and create the best possible results for you and your guests.  With so many factors to consider we would be happy to advice you.  For more information or to discuss specific project requirements please contact CGA Integration; Specialist sound, light and video system integrators.

.

Value for money

What do you think of when someone say "we want value for money"?

It is generally interpreted as Cheap or cheaper in today's financial climate

But a low cost of purchase is not always value for money - equally the dearest may not be either.

This is where you need to understand not only what you are buying, but how you are planning to use it and for how long.

A low cost of purchase with a high running cost may not be a value for money purchase (please see our blog on cost of ownership(coming shortly)) equally a dear purchase that need speacialist to support at premium rates may also offer poor value for money - unless the breakdown/failure rates are exceptionally low.

What should I look for?
We cannot tell you what you want, but at CGA Integration we always try to explain every element of the system and what it does for you. If a supplier cannot explain why you need an "XYZ" they you should not buy it!
Often the dearer items we specify are the units that have functionality to reduce running costs:
Many of the CGA systems now have processors that allow us to remotely monitor and test your system - so that we can reduce the need to come to site for minor issues and when we do come to site we know we have the correct parts for the fault and will resolve it with the minimum on site disruption and downtime

We also generally specify equipment with a sensible level of headroom, WHY?
The obvious analogy is a car engine - many of us have a car that has an 1800 or larger engine capable of speeds in excess of 100mph but we hardly ever drive it at these speeds. But we all know that a small engine car run flat out all day long will not last very long and the ride will not be very comfortable - but a big engined car will acheive the speed limit effortlessly, get you from A-B regularly without strain or stress and last you much longer.
The same is true of many other pieces of equipment - most notably power amplfiers
and if your amplifiers are running well within their limits your speakers will also last - leaving you with a good reliable system that is more likely to give you good value for money.

CGA Integration installed a small restaurant back in 1999, we have been called back a few times over the years, but the most serious problem thay have had is rodents eating the spaeker cables - the system still runs seven days a week and offers good sound to all areas of the restaurant - and it was not a dear system, it was just the correct system, installed sensibly and I like to think offers good value for money - 11 years later!

So when you are looking at your system - either replacing, upgrading or repairing, please contact us so that we can review your usage and make some suggestions to ensure that you have the correct equipment and acheive value for money.

Ceiling speakers

One of the most common questions we get asked by designers is:

"Can we have those small Bose cubes on the side walls of our new restaurant/bar?"

And unfortunately our answer is normally NO!

·        Bose will be the first people to tell you that these are NOT a commercial product and should not be installed in a commercial environment

·        Secondly designers normally choose these are they are discrete - but when you install small speakers such as these you always need to have a complimentary larger cabinet to fill in the bass and low frequencies that these cabinets cannot reproduce.

·        And most importantly mounting speakers around the outside of a venue is not always the best solution and can lead to an uneven sound field within a venue.

What do we need in a good restaurant?
When a guest dines in your restaurant they all receive the same quality of service, they have the same menu, linen, drinks offer, etc
So your sound system should be delivering to ALL your customers the same sound levels, ambience and atmosphere.

What is the best way to do this?
In a simple venue this even sound field is most evenly achieved by using a grid of ceiling speakers.
If you think about it a person walking through a room will always have their ear a constant. Distance from the ceiling, so if the speakers are placed correctly they will have a consistent sound level all the way throughout the room.
Unfortunately if we where to have used the wall mounted solution the same customer will find that the sound is louder near the walls and the sound will be lower in the middle of the room and then get louder again when he/she approaches the perimeter of the room
CGA use a ceiling speaker distribution calculator to match the height of the ceiling, the size of the room and the specification of the speakers to create an even sound field

We can apply this formula to most rooms and the current generation of ceiling speakers have white grills for white ceilings and as they are outside of our normal field of vision they disappear very quickly.

CGA Integration have used this formula in a wide range of venues, following are some of the CGA installations that use ceiling speakers to fulfil our clients requirements:
http://www.cga-integration.co.uk/case_tamarind.htm
http://www.cga-integration.co.uk/case_ducasse.htm
http://www.cga-integration.co.uk/case_chinatang.htm

What if I have not got a flat ceiling?
We can apply this principal to ceilings with exposed beams or even open up to the apex.
In Spains hall in Essex CGA used the ceiling beams to create a virtual ceiling and mounted speakers on this level to create an even sound field across the main dining room.
At Great Fosters in Egham CGA used the apex of the ceiling to mount the speakers - putting all listeners in the far field of the speakers, but also ensuring that all customers are a consistent distance from the speakers creating an even sound field at the listening positions - I.e. At the tables

Obviously every room if differentand each customer requires a different exeperience for their clients. CGA Integration pride ourselves on understanding customer needs to try and apply the corrcet solution in every application. Please see subscribe/Follow this blog to see different ways we solve problems for our customers.

Best regards
CGA Integration