Fig at Malcha

Fig at Malcha is an ‘eco-contemporary’ café, bakery and bar offering all-day dining at Malcha Marg, near Chanakyapuri, New Delhi’s historic diplomatic quarter. The second Fig restaurant, after the original destination in Gurgaon, Fig at Malcha combines Japanese design with Nordic lifestyle, featuring a curated menu based on high-quality, local and seasonal produce from local farms, GMO-free meat and cage-free eggs. It is also home to a Parisian-style bakehouse that offers fresh breads, pastries and ‘farm-to-cup’ speciality coffee.

According to Gunbir Singh, founder and co-owner of BBW Distributors, the Fig team desired “warm, comforting, lush” audio – “more hi-fi than pro sound” – which would aesthetically complement the lighting, climate control and ventilation systems to offer patrons “a pleasurable aural experience while in the space. Based on our experience within the food & beverage domain, we consulted with them and came up with a wish list of sorts. While they needed a multi-zone system with audio in all the public areas, they wanted equipment visibility to be minimal.”

The natural solution was a Powersoft Dynamic Music Distribution (DMD) system comprising two Mezzo amplifiers coupled with a WM Touch control panel. Using DMD wakes advantage of the convenient dynamic routing capabilities embedded in Powersoft amplifiers, users can drive up to four independent zones using a single four-channel Mezzo amplifier. At Fig, the six audio zones are controlled using a single wall-mounted 4.3” Powersoft WM Touch screen, which offers a level of convenience and usability “which makes this the Mezzo solution a non-brainer” says Singh.

For this installation, two Mezzo 604 A amplifier platforms, offering advanced DSP functionalities, remote control and monitoring, were paired with 12 Amphion Argon0 and two Apart Kubo 3T loudspeakers, as well as a Silent Angel Rhein Z1 V2 Roon server, a Matrix Audio X-SABRE 3 DAC, Gladen Audio speaker cables and Furutech interconnects.

One of the biggest challenge during the installation was overcoming the acoustic obstacles posed by glass and hard surfaces. Recognising that these elements could compromise the sound quality, the installation team assessed the venue’s acoustical characteristics and analysed how these surfaces could disrupt sound dispersion and intelligibility.

Even though Powersoft’s Mezzo amps offer substantial DSP capabilities, the teams goal was to get a good response without DSP. With full-house guest speech levels, acoustic treatment was paramount and applied in the ceiling to provide a more comfortable sonic environment for patrons.

Though the Mezzo 604 A also incorporates an integrated, state-of-the-art DSP, BBW designed the system around the physical attributes of the space, choosing to apply acoustic treatment to the ceiling rather than rely solely on signal processing – while the use of a Roon server, which uses machine learning to automatically play music based on Fig’s preferences, is believed to be a first in the region.

The Fig team needed a multi zone system with audio in all public areas, but they also asked for the equipment’s visibility to be minimal. To address this, BBW split the Powersoft amplifiers into four zones each, for a total of eight audio zones – six dedicated to the ten Amphion speakers installed in the public areas, one catering to the washrooms and common space, and one left for future expansion. The compact, easy-to-mount Mezzo are installed out of sight in an equipment rack on the café’s ground floor, with the understated Amphion speakers also contributing to keeping visibility of the sound system to a minimum.

Driven by commitment to excellence and a deep understating of the client’s vision, this award entry represents expertise in creating an unparalleled audio experience for the Fig at Malcha patrons.

The installation team successfully integrated audio into the eco-contemporary ambiance of Fig at Malcha, delivering the desired “warm, comforting, lush” sound experience. By collaborating closely with the Fig team, BBW exceeded expectations that according to the end user, Manish Yadav, “were already high to begin with,” by providing high-quality audio system, powered by Powersoft that perfectly complemented the ambiance.

Leveraging Powersoft’s Mezzo amplifiers, BBW team created a DMD system that offered unmatched flexibility, achieving optimal sound dispersion and intelligibility across six audio zones, controlled via a single touch screen (WM Touch). The installation team also recognised the acoustic challenges posed by the venue’s attributes, such as glass and hard surfaces and prioritised integration of acoustic treatments in the ceiling, ensuring, ensuring exceptional sound quality without compromising the visual aesthetics or audio experience.

Not only did the audio installation at Fig at Malcha deliver an outstanding audio quality, it also provided the Fig staff with intuitive control over individual zones. Coupled with the system’s reliability, the installation has earned high praise from Fig’s management with Yadav commenting: “The sound quality is fantastic – we find ourselves listening to the system after hours a lot. It is also super easy to use; we have never had to call them for anything major, since it seems to run on auto-pilot.”

Music has always been an important part of the Fig at Malcha experience and according to Yadav the new audio system has been a success in the way that it almost completely blends in with the Fig vibe. “It is substantial but balances, nuanced yet enjoyable – much like our offerings.”