The brief was to deliver a sound system that would be capable of bar music, two-piece bands and DJ sets.
Upon entering Mr Fogg’s Residence, the iconic Phileas Fogg hot air balloon is an immediate focal point. It is also the home for the NEXO ID S110e bass bin. Previously, there had been two ceiling mounted subwoofers, but when Guy designed the new system with NEXO, one bass unit was more than sufficient. Just six super compact, high-powered NEXO ID24’s were needed for this space, which besides the hot air balloons is littered with trinkets, ornaments and paintings from around the world. The ID24’s are very aesthetically pleasing, but also offer great quality audio for their size. Processing goes through a BSS Soundweb London BLU-100 DSP, a setup Guy had tried and tested many times before and had installed in other venues in the UK.
The House of Botanicals is filled entirely with flora and fauna collected from all over the world, alongside tropical plants, so once again, a discreet audio system was required. The setup was similar, making use of NEXO ID24’s, this time 10 cabinets were required to provide full coverage for the space.
A single NEXO ID S110e bass bin is also in place to extend the low frequency.
The amplification and processing differs slightly from Mr Fogg’s Residence, with Guy opting for two NEXO DTDAMP4x0.7 four-channel amplifiers and two NEXO DTD-T’s, which offer sophisticated control over crossover, EQ and time-alignment along with speaker protection. However, the BSS Soundweb London BLU-100 DSP and the BLU-3 volumes control panels are still in place, too.
The largest of the venues is Bedford Street’s, Society of Exploration and is the most recent addition to the chain; it’ll come as no surprise that with a larger venue comes a larger sound system. Guy specified 10 NEXO ID24’s again to cover the three spaces, but as the carriage is deemed the party area, additional bass bins were added there, taking the total of NEXO ID S110e subwoofers up to four across the venue. Two Nexo DTDAMP4x1.3’s and two NEXO DTD-T’s power and control the system, and following the setup pattern, a BSS Soundweb London BLU-100 DSP and six BLU-3 volumes control panels have also been installed.
Diamond AV added some subtle lighting at The House of Botanicals using LED strips and downlights from Abstract AVR, which are controllable using a ShowCAD Artist software package.
Mr Fogg’s House of Botanicals, located on Newman Street. Simon was certainly our lightest of the Fogg venues, it is immersed in greenery, with the cocktails focussing on all numbers of botanicals, as well as a menu dedicated to the secret language of flowers used in the Victorian era.
The Newman Street venue was almost installed with a different brand of loudspeakers but after the success of the Mayfair Residence, Inception Group trusted Guy’s judgement and expertise. The House of Botanicals is filled entirely with flora and fauna collected from all over the world, alongside tropical plants, so once again, a discreet audio system was required.
Diamond AV, a UK-based audiovisual design company, first took on the service and maintenance of the technology in Mr Fogg’s Gin Parlour and Mr Fogg’s Tavern. Technical Director at Diamond AV, Guy Ayres, then set about renovating Mr Fogg’s Residence, which at the time had been open for five years. Inception Group knew it needed to up its game and deliver a high-class audio solution, since establishing a name for itself. Society of Exploration on The Strand is our biggest Fogg’s to date and is truly jaw dropping.
