Little Sister Lounge

Little Sister Lounge, a nightclub by Tao Group located in the Moxy Lower East Side hotel, is an exclusive underground cocktail lounge reminiscent of the LES in the 1990s. After becoming familiar with 1 SOUND through its performance in neighboring venues within the Moxy Hotel and Tao Group sister venues like Tao Downtown nightclub, this NYC staple in the nightclub/lounge scene, decided to upgrade its audio system to an exclusive 1 SOUND system.

Installed by Anthem SSL Productions, the club embraced 1 SOUND’s Contour CT28s that are horizontally deployed with the Horizontal Mounting Bracket accessory. The Contours were the go-to because of their clarity and lack of distortion at high volumes. The CT28 has a max SPL of 140 dB. It has a 3-way crossover so the full bandwidth is pronounced with high sonic intelligibility. Because this room is constructed to feel like a cozy cavern-like space with rounded ceilings, the Contour’s constant directivity horn design helped control the sound directivity. This limits the amount of sound bleeding behind the speaker down to 200 Hz, resulting in a cleaner listening environment.

To pair with the impact of the CT28, 1 SOUND’s SUB215 subwoofers were distributed in the nightclub. These subwoofers deliver deep, fast-responding, and musical bass. Utilizing its two 15-inch low-frequency drivers with the newest tetracoil technology, this subwoofer also has a max SPL of 140 dB. Behind the DJ, in the VIP lounge, there are two Cannon C8s deployed. With a bandwidth down to 55 Hz, a max SPL of 120 dB, and its coaxially mounted compression driver, these small point sources bring the impact needed to support the smaller corners of the club where you want the energy to remain consistent throughout the venue.

This design resulted in consistent coverage throughout the venue and high sound pressure levels needed for nightly DJs when the lounge turns into a nightclub atmosphere.

The prompt for upgrading the audio system was to create a system that was an improvement sonically, as Little Sister Lounge. It needed to provide impact and have clarity to create an elegant nightclub atmosphere. At the same time, this system could not take up much floor space and needed to fit into the luxury style of the venue.

Anthem knew 1 SOUND’s Contour CT28 was the fit. This horn-loaded loudspeaker has incredible SPL capability for its size. The CT28 has an impactful sound while maintaining 1 SOUND’s signature clarity and lack of distortion at high volumes. The smaller VIP areas needed to remain consistent in the sonic landscape, having the same sound energy in small spaces. Anthem implemented the Cannon C8 resulting in a great compliment. Due to its compression driver it can get loud while remaining consistent in its clarity and depth.

Another challenging consideration was mounting the loudspeakers and assuring that they fit aesthetically. The walls are vertical wood slats that are curved into the ceiling, making it a bit difficult to mount and make the loudspeakers blend. Anthem used 1 SOUND’s Horizontal Mounting bracket for the Contour speakers and the Cannon’s C-Clamp to get the desired positioning of the loudspeakers.

Anthem enlisted help from 1 SOUND’s Custom Shop to help color-match the loudspeakers to the venue making sure they blended in perfectly. Anthem also color-matched the SUB215s adding a tabletop on them so they blended in and could be in their optimal positions.

After becoming familiar with Anthem’s work over the past few years in sister venues like the Moxy Hotel, where they installed 1 SOUND into Silver Lining Lounge, a Piano Bar, Sake No Hana, a Modern Japanese Restaurant, the Highlight Room, a rooftop cocktail lounge, and The Fix, a bar and all-day cafe. Anthem has shown how the 1 SOUND systems they have implemented have proven their quality and reliability. Little Sister Lounge saw this and wanted to upgrade its audio system.

In the end, Little Sister Lounge received a fully custom audio system that matched their venue and the elegant and energetic atmosphere that Little Sister Lounge set out to create. This project shows consistency in going above and beyond for clients and designing for the needs of the experience. Anthem Productions has fostered a symbiotic relationship with its client and partnership and expertise with its product brands where they provide service above expectations just like Little Sister Lounge aims to provide for their clientele.