A remarkable site in London’s trendy Shoreditch area has been taken over by Martin Audio aficionado, Stephen Breen.

Breen, who with his partner Fred Nicolay owns a string of bars in Belgium, and has also installed Martin Audio in his West London bar Morrison’s (after a blindfold test against other leading brands), is the proud owner of an AQ system in his new venue, HELL. This was supplied and installed by London-based Sound Division.
The venue at various times has been a button factory, and most recently the Brick Lane Music Hall. With its 10,000 sq ft footprint and 512 capacity HELL looks set to dominate the leisure landscape of Shoreditch, with its mix of music, all-day, deli-based food and a strong continental flavour. And Stephen Breen knows that the percentage of his £1.5 million spend devoted to the loudspeakers has been a wise investment.

“I think Martin Audio produce great speakers — sonically excellent — and the fact they are a British company is an added bonus.”

He had been operating bars in Northern Europe and when he moved to London he began the research process. “A lot of the major players were recommending Martin Audio, and in the serious venues I started to notice that more and more people were running Martin rigs.”

So when he first met Sound Division MD David Graham at The Bar Show, with a view to fitting out Morrison’s, the London-based installers were only too pleased to oblige.

“Two years later, the new AQ series has arrived,” says David, “and so we have been able to turn him onto that.”

Dividing the venue into three sound zones he has specified eight AQ8’s, eight AQ5’s and a combination of AQ112 (1 x 12in) and AQ210 (2 x 10in) subs. The AQ5’s double up with the AQ112’s in the restaurant zone, AQ8’s and AQ210’s (recessed under the benches), are found in the ‘hotspot’ area facing the DJ booth, and in the multimedia area further AQ8’s, either side of the projection screen, create a sound bias.

The DJ benefits from having a Martin Audio Blackline F8 reference monitor — and those using the expansive washrooms benefit from continuous sound, courtesy of quantities of Martin Audio’s C516 ceiling speakers.

Sound Division also used Martin Audio amplification — MA900’s and MA1400’s — to power the system, which operates under BSS Soundweb DSP process control. Signal feeds include a Rolec digital music management system, DJ playback — while Soundweb is also configured for open mic nights. Everyone knew that the loudspeaker system needed to be versatile.

David Graham is proud to have introduced the signature Martin Audio sound to Shoreditch, and praised the company’s Bradley Watson for exemplary technical support and product advice — and in particular for setting up the site demo.
“I am especially delighted that the service we have given Stephen in the intervening two years has been such that he didn’t feel the need to obtain other quotes on this job,” David concluded.

“He has been a great client, and placed total confidence and trust in us, a fact that was reflected in the budget.”