Even though it was Thanksgiving 2001, only weeks after September 11, Alex Tomasso was moving forward with plans to make Therapy, his new ultra-dance club in Providence, Rhode Island, the very best American had to offer.

A true entrepreneur and risk-taker, Tomasso already owned and operated several other venues.

Working with British expat Mark Waker of Balanced Input, Alex wanted a club that, like London’s legendary Fabric, would re-define standards. The building that would house Therapy was  originally a mill that had once serviced the electric trucks that moved the Providence trolley car system. Almost 55 feet tall, it only had two floors, but making those fit for use required a total renovation.

Therapy’s interior design, by Kyla Coburn, was to be distinctive without clutter. The same directive was issued for general contractor Joe Ricci and Brian Jay of Euphoric Lighting.

The lower floor is made up of four parallel tunnels. By day, the outer tunnels form the Gallery INSANE, and a quiet area for the club by night. Ten Martin Audio C115 speakers broadcast music throughout the lower floor, from CD by day and the DJ booth by night.

The upper floor measures 90 by 45 feet and almost 40 feet high, with the massive crane from the trolley car days still high above the floor. Service areas now occupy the west wall; entrance and VIP zone are on the south side, bleacher style seats/dance areas are on the north. The DJ booth occupies the north-east corner, sitting above the amp room.

Because he wanted Therapy to offer the same refined audio as London super-club Fabric, Tomasso followed Waker’s recommendation and selected a low-distortion, high-resolution system The design initially called for Martin Audio Blackline H3 full-range speaker systems to be flown at each corner of the 35ft by 27ft dancefloor, with Martin Audio H2 mid-hi packs filling in on the long axis. These elements are suspended approximately 12ft above the floor and raked steeply downward at 45° to direct all the energy on to the dance floor. Six Martin Audio S218 subwoofers are configured in a single block, located under the bleachers on the north wall, with the amp room situated under the booth.

The DJ booth houses the usual complement of three Technics SL 1200s, Rane MP 2016 with six-pack EQ module and a Denon DN 2600F CD player, all powered by an ETA power conditioner. The monitors are Martin Audio F12 systems which are flown close to each side of
the booth.

On October 4 Therapy opened and the system was run hard for the first time. The following day  NYC’s Shawn Ink ripped the roof off with a blistering set. Comments about the sound system often include the word “pristine” and “insane”, frequently in the same sentence. It is completely silent and often scares people who are used to the steady hiss and hum that populates so many systems. With only minimal compression and EQ in use, the dynamic range of the system is unencumbered and the music quality shines through.

The final word has to go to Alex Tomasso who commissioned the system. “I currently own two large scale sound systems and have purchased many more, but they don’t come close. I didn’t know anything could sound this good!”