CHANDIGARH, India – PVR bluO Rhythm and Bowl, a new entertainment destination concept in India, bills itself as India’s largest bowling center, with locations throughout the country. Much more than just a place to knock down pins, bluO’s newest Chandigarh location boasts 25 lanes and offers music, world cuisine, two karaoke rooms and internationally renowned DJ’s. Its lounges are the scene of regular Bollywood celebrity sightings. bluO’s striking interior features a ceiling with “rippling wave” lighting and other ultramodern design touches – and a HARMAN Professional sound system to keep the good times rolling.
“As a destination, PVR bluO epitomizes a new bowling facility standard due to its capability to infuse energy and excitement through sound. When HARMAN was approached by the management of PVR, we knew our goal was to ensure the necessary blend of quality acoustics to match the aesthetics of the venue. Upon completion of the project, we had a great sport destination with a world-class sound system, delivering a great experience to visitors,” advised Karan Kathuria, National Sales Manager, Installed Sound, HARMAN India.
Resonance Audio, a New Delhi-based system integration firm, was responsible for the design, layout, installation and programming of the bluO system. A JBL loudspeaker complement of four STX 815M two-way 15-inch loudspeakers, four STX 818S 18-inch subwoofers, two Control 28s loudspeakers, a SB210 dual-10-inch compact subwoofer, and six Control 29AV’s which feature a rotatable high-frequency horn, enabling either horizontal or vertical mounting for added installation flexibility, cover the venue.
Audio signal processing and distribution is handled by a BSS Audio BLU-100 signal processor with digital audio bus, BSS BLU-BOB break out box output expander and a Soundcraft EPM-6 mixing console. Crown amplifiers, including one XTi 4002, one XLS 2500 and three XTi 6002’s drive the loudspeakers. Resonance Audio also supplied four AKG HT-45 wireless microphones for paging and announcements, karaoke and visiting DJs and entertainers.
“Our primary needs for this installation were good speech intelligibility and very high SPL levels with uniform low-frequency distribution and exceptional audio reproduction throughout the facility,” said Raghu Srinivasan, Managing Director at Resonance Audio. “We had a lot of ground to cover – the bowling alley itself, the lounges, the bar and restaurant and other areas, and we selected the particular JBL loudspeaker models on an application-specific basis to best cover the areas in which they were installed, and because their form factors made it easy to place them where they would not intrude upon bluO’s decor.”
Overall, the system was designed to maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio and have enough headroom to prevent clipping. “As you can imagine a bowling alley is a high ambient noise level environment, and we knew the power capability of the Crown amps, combined with the wide coverage patterns and efficiency of the JBL loudspeakers would be more than up to the task.”
Srinivasan chose the BSS BLU-100 because its flexible programming options enabled him to configure the system for optimal performance. The BLU-100 and Soundcraft console enable the system to deliver different volume levels for different zones of the venue, without being complicated to use.
“This project needed a system that staff members can easily operate without having to rely on a dedicated audio person. For this reason and because it’s constantly in use delivering high SPL on a regular basis, the audio system has to be totally reliable and foolproof. We have relied on HARMAN Professional products in all of our large-scale installations for years, and our belief in their capabilities has only been strengthened with time,” stated Srinivasan. “We are proud to have been an integral part of such a prestigious project and are more than delighted to have executed it with such extraordinary results,” he concluded.
Commenting on the installation, Bhanu Yadav, Vice President, Operations for PVR bluO stated, “This project was a major success, and we now have an amazing audio experience with a system that is both clear and powerful.”
“Our work with Resonance Audio and this particular installation underscores HARMAN India’s commitment to serving a host of vertical market applications that are now demanding higher quality audio solutions in their venues,” stated Prashant Govindan, Director, India Operations HARMAN Professional. “At HARMAN we are uniquely positioned to meet this need with our dedicated systems approach providing these users with all the elements required for a first-class professional audio system.”
HARMAN designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of infotainment and audio solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson® and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of 14,800 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.7 billion for the last twelve months ended December 31, 2013.
