Located beneath the Westway just off London’s vibrant Portobello Road, UNDR is a versatile, multi-faceted events venue that celebrates sound system culture. Launched at the beginning of May, UNDR is set to stage a wide variety of events, functions and community initiatives, and also serves as a daytime workspace offering an extensive menu of food and drinks.
DJ sets naturally play a central role in its programme, so a premium sound system was absolutely essential to UNDR’s credentials. Owner Ben Ashbourn discussed the venue’s requirements with a number of DJs from MiSoul Radio, who strongly recommended a Pioneer PRO Audio system to be installed by Cosmic Electronics.
Mark Damon, CEO of Cosmic Electronics commented: “From my initial visit it was clear that UNDR wanted a system that was not only sonically impressive but gave more than an nod to the old ‘sound system’ days. As a result we agreed on installing more of a dance stack design, which was to be an immediate hit. It was important that the system could cover everything from live bands to a DnB event and all points in between. It’s already proved to be more than capable covering every genre of music hosted at UNDR.”
Cosmic installed audio throughout the entire venue, drawing upon both XY-Series professional and CM-Series commercial audio loudspeakers from Pioneer PRO AUDIO.
In the main room the system comprises (per side) 3 XY-218HS dual 18” horn-loaded subwoofers, 2 XY-2E 8” passive/bi-amp mid-high loudspeakers, 1 XY-1 dual 12” hybrid loaded LF loudspeaker, and 1 XY-2 passive mid-high as infill. A pair of XY-152 two-way full range loudspeakers are deployed for DJ a monitoring, whilst the bar area is covered by 3 XY-101 10” two-way passive and a single XY-215S dual 15” subwoofer. The system is designed such that the bar area can be used as a standalone system or in conjunction with the main room.
Complementing the XY-Series in areas that require lower SPL, Cosmic installed a pair of CM-S58T 8” surface mount loudspeakers on the venue’s terrace, with another pair used for the restrooms. 2 Powersoft X8 DSP and 1 x Powersoft Quattrocanali 4804 amplifiers complete the picture.
UNDR has already proved a massive hit in West London, receiving rave reviews for both its exciting programme of events and its brand new sound system. Ben Ashbourn reflects on what he considers to be an exceptional system:
“UNDR was set up as an ode to sound system culture, and the DJs that we so revered growing up. It was therefore extremely important that we installed a system that not only sounded incredible but also had the look of a carnival style rig. We looked at a multitude of systems but once we saw and heard what Mark and Oz at Cosmic audio were proposing, we were instantly sold. Mark and the guys at Pioneer Pro Audio went above and beyond to build and install a one-of-a-kind system that not only looks great, but also sounds incredible. We wholeheartedly believe that is good enough to rival any system in any club anywhere in the world.”
