News
Lab.gruppen powers new US complex
Andy Wood May 6 2008, 11:00am
Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center opens with Swedish amplification
Towering over the banks of the Potomac River just south of the US’s capital city, the new Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center now ranks as the largest combined hotel and convention center on the East Coast.
Opened in April of 2008, the $865 million development encompasses 2,000 rooms (including 110 suites), four signature restaurants, the sleek Pose Ultra Lounge nightclub, and 470,000 sq ft of meeting space. A cavernous 18-story atrium houses full-size replicas of a Virginia farmhouse and a Georgetown row house in a park-like setting.
The vast complex also incorporates scores of different sound systems for foreground music, live entertainment, and audio-for-video applications, all driven by more than 100 Lab.gruppen C Series power amplifiers.
According to Chess McKinney, director of project technologies Gaylord Entertainment, Lab.gruppen amplifiers were chosen based on Swedish manufacturer’s reputation for quality and reliability, as well as on the compact size and comprehensive remote monitoring features unique to the C Series.
“Lab.gruppen offered a solution using multi-channel amps that saved considerable rack space. That became a key consideration as this project developed,” he said.
The power amplification needs are indeed extraordinary, with more than 1,200 Tannoy CMS ceiling-mount and DI surface-mount loudspeakers installed. Additionally, the lounge system features high-powered club sounds from a hefty EAW system, while the exhibit hall utilizes an extensive deployment of EAW 2394 loudspeakers. Digital processing and signal distribution is handled by 32 Media Matrix NION N3 units.
“This is a very large building, so we needed an amplifier system with very good remote control and status monitoring, which was available in Lab.gruppen’s NomadLink,” adds McKinney. “Also, Lab.gruppen worked with us to add password controls, which is critical for security when you’re sharing network resources.”
The hotel’s sophisticated audio, video and associated control systems were designed by Ron Baker, a senior consultant at WJHW in Dallas, Texas. Engineering and systems integration was contracted to SPL Integrated Systems of Columbia, Maryland; on-site installation and wiring was handled by Nelson White Systems of Towson, Maryland.
WJHW’s Ron Baker expressed his satisfaction with the Lab.gruppen C Series, commenting that it “continues to be a very appealing solution, particularly when we need high power in a small space. We’ve used C Series amplifiers since on a couple of smaller applications.”
Five different Lab.gruppen C Series models were installed for the project, all offering either four or eight output channels for a total of 520 channels. The 106 amplifier complement is capable of total output power exceeding 197,000 watts.
Gaylord National is the newest prestige property of Gaylord Hotels, a multi-property hospitality company focused on upscale, meetings-oriented resorts. Other Gaylord Hotels properties are located in Nashville, Tennessee; in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, and near Orlando, Florida.
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