Walk into a restaurant founded by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS and you expect it be rocking. So the stakes were high for Southern California Rock & Brews franchise partner Jon Mesko when ordering loudspeakers for two new locations in Corona and Rancho Cucamonga. With help from CBC Technical, the KISS-themed restaurants turned to the full-range VUE i8 2-way loudspeakers to anchor each system.
David Meek, VP of the Wildomar, Calif.-based integration firm, designed the systems for the two 200-capacity locations, according to a VUE Audiotechnik press release.
CBC chose the VUE i8 in part because of a need for intelligibility in high ambient noise spaces. In total, 33 VUE i8s were deployed in Corona and 24 i8s in Rancho Cucamonga.
“First off, Rock & Brews play nothing but classic rock so the sound had to be extraordinary,” says Meek in the press release. “But even more importantly, intelligibility of the lyrics was paramount. You can turn the VUEs up enough to hear the vocals without blowing everyone away.”
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Meanwhile, ease of installation was a factor. “The i8s use good-old U brackets which you can do just about anything with — they installed on the already-existing truss like a breeze,” Meek says.
Meek also praised the i8’s flat frequency response. “One thing I’ve noticed is that everything from VUE is QC’d – every speaker comes out of the box and works; we run the systems fairly flat because the frequency response is so flat.”
So far the customer (Mesko) and the restaurant’s patrons are impressed with the systems, according to Meek. “The client absolutely loves how each restaurant sounds. It was a real honor to design the systems that deliver the truest classic rock experience to hundreds of patrons each day.”
Meek and CBC are no strangers to the restaurant market. Its restaurant clients include Outback Steakhouse; Eurkea! Restaurant; Yard House; Salt and Straw; Wild and Free; Lucille’s Smoke House BBQ and more.
Meek says VUE has helped CBC deliver results for its restaurant clients. “While our growth plans are ambitious, the team and I have the growth track record, and the amazing-sounding line of VUE i8 loudspeakers in our court — the sky’s the limit!”
