The Winchester Auto Barn and Drivers’ Club facility sits in the beautiful Hampshire countryside near Alresford. Converted from a large refrigerated production area with offices above, the site now comprises a workshop and showroom, and also offers 30,000 sq ft of easy-to-access premium indoor and outdoor storage packages for classic cars, motorcycles, motor homes and boats. The former office space has been tastefully refurbished as a Driver’s Club, with communal areas and a board room. Close attention was paid to its interior design, creating a relaxing space which also includes audio and video systems.
Auto Barn Director, Niall Holden, engaged Bradford-based Pro Audio Systems (PAS) to supply its requirements which included a zoned audio system and discreet recessed projection screen.
The systems which were installed to cater for background music, broadcast audio and video, and speech presentation, needed to be easy to use by the wide variety of club members visiting the facility.
PAS supplied an audio system by Audac, based around its MTX 48 4-zone audio matrix. Powered by an Audac CAP448 4-channel amplifier, 10 CIRA8 quick fit 2-way 8” ceiling speakers deliver exceptional intelligibility and music reproduction across three zones in the entertainment area, board room and general purpose area, with two ALT16 pendant loudspeakers deployed for the workshop. A single NOBA8A compact active subwoofer was added for the wider ranging requirements of the entertainment area. Three MWX45 wall panel controllers allow local source selection and volume control in the smaller zones, with an MWX65 all-in-one panel allowing local inputs for a microphone and/or BYOD as well as source and volume control in the entertainment area.
An Apple TV 4K is at the centre of the video system, giving access to streaming services and the ability to share content wirelessly using AirPlay. This is sent over Cat6 via HDAnywhere 2K150 Extenders, allowing users to locate the Apple TV at their convenience for ease of operation. Audio from the Apple TV is de-embedded and sent to the audio system.
Video content is sent to a Panasonic PT-VM51EJ 5,200 lumen WUXGA laser projector. This compact unit was selected for its brightness and built-in lens which allows it to be mounted close to the projection screen, maximising light output for a bright punchy image. A Euroscreen Sesame 2.1 ceiling recessed projection screen was chosen to complement the aesthetic of the space, ‘disappearing’ into the ceiling after use with nothing left on show. As well as standard remote controls for the units, PAS also provided a wall-mounted SY Electronics UK 6-button keypad controller as an on/off facility for the projector and reveal/retract function for the screen. A Phillips 55” BDL553550Q large format display, which can receive content from the projector or be used independently was supplied for the boardroom.
Niall Holden is pleased with the new systems: “We had a good idea of what we wanted, so after a brief discussion with Peter Butler at Pro Audio Systems, we chose products which we considered to offer excellent value whilst delivering great quality audio and video. It was important that the hardware was discreet and blended into the interior decor, and that the control was straightforward and easy for our members to operate. The systems offer a real enhancement to the Drivers’ Club and we’re more than satisfied with our investment.”
