The Life Hotel in Manhattan features 98 rooms, an upscale restaurant, and a subterranean cocktail bar said to have been a speakeasy for magazine staffers during Prohibition. Step forward Synapse Audio Visual Designs, whom designed and installed a high-end sound system befitting the renovated building’s history.
“When our client said she was looking for small, high-end loudspeakers for the Life Hotel, I knew exactly where to turn,” explained Synapse Audio Visual Designs owner Chris Obssuth. “We designed a distributed system based on Fulcrum Acoustic’s RX Series coaxial loudspeakers. We’ve found their high output-to-size ratio and broad 90° x 90° coverage extremely effective in close quarters like the hotel spaces.”
Eight compact Fulcrum RX699 6.5-inch coaxial loudspeakers cover the lobby’s cosy bar and dining area with six additional RX699s in the historic downstairs speakeasy, which was discovered during the hotel’s extensive renovation. “The beauty of Fulcrum’s RX Series speakers is that they’re very full sounding for a small form factor and their mid-bass is ridiculously good,” said Chris.
“We also installed two ultra-compact Fulcrum US212 dual 12-inch subwoofers in the hotel’s basement speakeasy for the low frequency extension needed to support live DJs,” recalled Chris. “When space is a challenge to find, as is often the case in New York city, Fulcrum loudspeakers are a great fit.”
