Before the Soho Grand Hotel opened in August 1996, Manhattan’s chic, exclusive
SoHo district lacked a major hotel for more than a century. All that changed when
Manhattan’s first luxury downtown boutique hotel introduced a level of service and
style that landed the Soho Grand on Conde Nast Traveler’s “Gold List” as one of the
world’s best places to stay.

The hotel is now a classic part of the neighbourhood, but it is anything but old-
fashioned, keeping up with the times in both design and technology. The Soho Grand
has redone its sound system four times in the past 17 years to present a variety of
musical events and other programs, including contemporary DJs. All four sound
system makeovers were designed and installed by Essential Communications of East
Hanover, New Jersey.

In part, a reflection of the increased emphasis on DJs, the Soho Grand’s newest sound
system is based on a Dante network managed by a Symetrix Radius 12×8 EX DSP.
“The Symetrix Radius manages the audio system for the entire property,” begins
Essential Communications President David Schwartz. “That includes all of the common
areas; the Harbor Room, which is divisible into three separate meeting rooms; the
Chart Room, which hosts a variety of events and meetings; a main lounge area called
the Salon; the Grand Bar at one end of the Salon; and the Club Room at the other
end of the Salon. The Club Room has two divisible areas: the main Club Room Bar and
Lounge, and a more private party room called the Parlour.”

In addition to Radius DSP, Essential Communications team installed new loudspeakers
in the long, rectangular Salon. “We put in the new Community IC-series loudspeakers
with QSC power amplifiers,” details Schwartz. “There are speakers pointed in different
directions to cover some of the nooks and crannies, and we wanted to be able to
apply EQ and timing as necessary, so we used a lot of DSP outputs. The Radius 12×8
EX is equipped with a 4 Channel Analog Output Card, as well as an xOut 12 output
expander, so the system has 24 analogue outputs. It performs very well, and it
sounds great!”

Providing easy-to-use control for the new system was an important part of the design.
“We customised the user interface because end users-in, this case food and beverage
managers and floor managers, want simple control,” asserts Schwartz. “They want to
push a button, and the volume goes up or the source changes, and that’s it. We were
able to provide exactly that with the Symetrix ARC-WEB virtual interface.”

The divisible Harbor Rooms are equipped with ARC-3 wall panels, primarily used for
volume/mute control and source selection. A separate ARC-3 serves as a room setup
controller for room combining. The Chart Room also has an ARC-3, while yet another
ARC-3 serves as a common area backup at the main audio racks.

Elsewhere, ARC-WEB enables wireless control from a web browser. “In the common
areas, as well as the two bars and the Salon, everything is run with ARC-WEB,”
Schwartz explains. “We installed our own wireless network for the audio system, and
we give each manager a static IP address on their iPhones, as well as an assigned
static IP for the Radius. With one touch, the manager can connect directly to the
Radius and change sources and volumes for all zones. The hotel also has an iPad in
the office they can use as a backup. The managers love it; whenever I see the Food
and Beverage Manager, he reminds me that the wireless control is a ‘game changer.’
And it is. There is no lag, you do not push a button and wait. It’s instantaneous and
very cool.”

Using ARC-WEB provides additional benefits, notes Schwartz. “Once you put the
network information into the mobile device and save it as a shortcut to the device’s
desktop, all the user has to do is press the shortcut, and the software automatically
retrieves the IP address and connects to the system. It’s so simple, which also cuts
the time we spend training people.”

Schwartz and his team selected the Symetrix Radius after thorough testing. “I have
experience with many of the top DSPs,” he recounts, “and we have done shootouts
with DSPs from different manufacturers. We tested, looked at the programming, and
looked at the user interfaces, which are important. We didn’t need multi-point control
for the Soho Grand, and it would be overkill to get a complex touch screen control
system just to adjust volumes and sources. I’m not going to oversell; that’s not the
way we do business. Symetrix ARC-WEB on a mobile device proved a brilliant
solution.”

The Soho Grand Hotel’s new audio system is already a grand success. “They love the
new system,” Schwartz confirms. “If you can figure out how to go the path of least
resistance and provide a great product, it’s a home run. I would say in my entire
career; this is one of the greatest home runs we’ve hit. We’re proud of every project
we do, but this one is at the next level, and the Symetrix Radius 12×8 EX and ARC
control systems were major reasons for its success.”