K-array loudspeaker system creates the right ambience for Michelin star restaurant brand’s new Corinthia London venture.

At Kerridge’s Bar & Grill at Corinthia, London just off London’s Embankment you can expect an outstanding culinary experience from Tom Kerridge and his team and an auditory experience to match, thanks to a K-array speaker system that delivers dynamic sounds and looks the part in equal measure.

Corinthia London appointed a new MD, Thomas Kochs, who quickly turned the business around by bringing in the sought-after Kerridge’s brand and transformed the restaurant into a trendy bar and grill popular with those patrons looking for a unique dining experience.

The new direction provided an opportunity to upgrade and modernise the sound systems, which at the time consisted of mainly ceiling speakers that struggled to project effectively from the seven-metre high ceiling and turned to audio-visual integration specialist AT&C Professional Systems for a high-performance solution.

After an on-site demonstration of products from the K-array range supported by UK distributor 2B Heard’s Dave Wooster, it was clear that the technical team at Kerridge’s were savvy to quality sound, and were quick to appreciate the potential benefits of a speaker system that would enhance the décor as much as providing full frequency response and strong dynamic range.

“It was clear that the existing system needed to be replaced,” said Wooster, “and having assessed the restrictions on ceiling height and cable runs, we decided that although Kerridge’s is essentially one large space to treat the room as two separate areas to allow for quite different sound level requirements.”

Python-KP102 line arrays in black are fitted to the dark timber panelling at the left and right of the back wall of the bar creating an upbeat ambience, covering all of the bar area and providing mid and high frequencies down most of the restaurant area. These are supplemented with a pair of Thunder-KMT18 18-inch subwoofers which provide the capability for that part of the system to go up a few notches in level when required.

“The ceiling height was a major challenge,” conceded AT&C’s Richard Newman. “It can get quite echoey in the room and the previous speaker system wasn’t able to overcome that, being so far away from the listeners. Our solution was much more of a near-field approach, using both K-array’s sub-compact line arrays and small point source speakers, and that has made everything much more controlled and intelligible.”

The lower SPL restaurant area is covered by four Domino-KF26 full range point source speakers located on the window bar returns, filling in the frequencies that begin to tail off with distance from the bar area. Two Rumble-KU26 dual six-inch low frequency speakers are fitted within the restaurant fixed seating. With the majority of the low frequencies coming from the bar area subs, no additional subwoofers were needed in the restaurant.

The entire system runs from a single Kommander KA24 4-channel amplifier situated along with the control equipment in a wall-mounted rack in the cloakroom.

“I’m really pleased with the way the K-array systems have improved the overall quality. It sounds awesome, and it can go pretty loud for those party occasions that demand a bit more energy and SPL,” said Newman. “I can’t think of another speaker brand that would be capable of fulfilling the brief both acoustically and visually.”

“Our solution to the ceiling height challenge was a near-field approach combining K-array’s sub-compact line arrays with small point source speakers, and that has made everything much more controlled and intelligible.”

Richard Newman, Director, AT&C Professional Systems

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