Aria

Having celebrated its 25^th anniversary recently, owners of Sydney’s Aria restaurant, which overlooks the city’s harbour front, decided to upgrade its ageing 25-year-old audio system with a new Fohhn Audio upgrade.

Aria is an institution frequented by regulars and tourists alike for its world-class food, ambience, and one of the best dining vistas in the world.

“It’s important that nothing detracts from the amazing views of the opera house and harbour bridge, or what is on the plate,” said Restaurant Manager, Toni Clayton.

However, Clayton had started to become concerned with the existing background music system, and so started discussion new solutions with AV provider BeyondAV.

“We were responsible for the original AV install way back 25-plus years ago and have been taking care of Aria’s requirements since,” explained BeyondAV Director, Christiaan van Schalkwyk. “We’ve noticed that Aria is increasingly being booked as an events space, and the old in-ceiling speaker system just wasn’t designed to meet that sort of challenge. On those occasions we’ve had to bring in a portable PA, which isn’t a great look and it’s another expense for the restaurant.”

Clayton, came into the Restaurant Manager role late in 2023, and was quickly convinced of the need for an upgrade, and asked BeyondAV to scope out what a new audio solution might look like at Aria.

After it was determined the existing in-ceiling loudspeaker setup couldn’t be directly replaced, alternatives were sought, and it had to be as low-profile as possible.

BeyondAV’s Con Andrews gave the project some consideration and thought to himself: ‘this could be a job for a Fohhn Audio solution.’ He phoned the Fohhn distributor, Audio Brands, and spoke to Business Development Manager, Scott Angove, who was quickly on the same page.

“I immediately had a few thoughts and options for the space,” said Angove. “I knew Fohhn had a product that would work both visually and acoustically, and once Toni and the team at Aria heard the demo, it was clear there was no turning back.”

Angove worked with BeyondAV to arrange an on-site listening session, with the small form factor Fohhn LXP-10 taking the spotlight.

“Moving into the dining area from the bar I transitioned from hearing the old audio system to a demonstration of the new Fohhn solution, and the difference was night and day,” recalled Clayton. “The conversation quickly changed from an audio upgrade for the dining area to a venue-wide upgrade – the demonstration was that impressive.”

The passive LXP-10 might be the most visible new audio addition to the dining room, but its Fohhn’s ‘flat subs’ that are the unseen heroes of this installation. The Integrato IGS-4 is a passive subwoofer with a depth of 108mm and designed to be mounted to the ceiling or wall, but for this project the subs were concealed in the joinery behind the kickplate at the perimeter of the space.

“We needed a full-range, rich, hi-fi sound that wouldn’t overwhelm the space visually,” stated Angove. “Conventional subs would be too boxy for this setting, and so Fohhn’s flat subs, based on the Fohhn Mediascale speaker technology, were ideal. The fact we could place them under joinery worked perfectly without compromising the bass quality.”

The two private dining and events spaces were afforded a new Fohhn Mediascale solution, and while Mediascale is more widely found in corporate applications, it proved a good fit for this space. What made it a match for Aria, is its sonic signature is practically identical to the IPX-10/IGS-4 combination, making the tonal transition between spaces seamless.

The bar area features in the same LXP-10/IGS-4 combination as the dining room with the flat subs located under centrally-located banquette seating, while the foyer and bathrooms now have Fohhn Integrato in-ceiling speakers. Some 28 channels of Fohhn amplification handle the full-range, low-impedance setup, and the MA Series amplifiers also handle the DSP duties. All the modelling was done by Angove in Fohhn Designer, helping to ensure an even coverage throughout the venue.

“As every experienced restaurant operator knows, background music underpins the ambience,” concluded Clayton. “If it’s done well, no one notices it, but you’d be lost without it. The new Fohhn system balances that perfectly.

“More than that, we now have a far more capable audio system that can respond to the events that are a large part of our business. We recently celebrated the restaurant’s 25th birthday with a DJ and speeches. It was the first time in 25 years that we’ve been able to use the in-house loudspeakers for a DJ, and it sounded wonderful.”