News Cafe Boksburg Upgrades Audio and Lighting System

Located in Boksburg, a town in the eastern surrounds of Johannesburg, is a popular restaurant and bar called News Cafe. Part of a chain of venues country wide it is known for great vibe, fantastic food and wide array of drinks, the venue recently enlisted the services of DJ Heaven – when considering an upgrade in the venue’s audio and lighting system.

Elster Pieterse, owner of DJ Heaven, contacted the Solutions team at Audiosure to assist with a complete audio and lighting solution, whilst remaining conscious of the end users budget constraints. The customer was looking for a distributed audio system, where music could be heard throughout the venue at any time of the day or night. A dedicated dance floor area also needed to be configured, as the venue caters for DJ’s on the weekends.

Following a site inspection and meeting with representatives of News Cafe Boksburg and DJ Heaven, the Audiosure Solutions team started putting together the ideal solution. The venue is wide open, has tiled flooring throughout, and glass windows all around which creates a few acoustical challenges. This became an important factor whilst designing the layout of the complete audio system.

John Greaves, Audio Product Specialist at Audiosure, suggested that a combination of ceiling and wall speakers be used within the main inside and outside balcony areas. “We decided to go with fourteen Qbit CSL 611T ceiling speakers to evenly distribute audio throughout the main bar area, and eight DSPPA 8064 wall speakers to distribute audio on the outside deck and balcony areas.” John also highlighted that the 4 main areas are controlled by discrete matrix channels, which allows the staff to easily control the different area levels through the integrated WiFi network, by means of an app. These speakers are driven by four DSPPA MP1500 amplifiers.

“For the DJ area, we utilised Samson’s RSX professional range of active speakers. Two 12 inch RSX112 active speakers were flown from the ceiling, and coupled with an 18 inch RSX18A subwoofer, to deliver a full range audio experience to patrons on the dance floor.” The DJ audio system is processed by a Wharfedale Pro Versadrive SC-26 speaker management system, which provides digital signal processing and protection. News Cafe representatives were very happy to hear that their brand new system is always safe, no matter which DJ or artist is performing.

A ChauvetDJ GigBAR 2 was installed in the DJ area to provide extra lighting to the dance floor when needed. The GigBAR 2 contains an array of LED wash lights, two LED Derby fixtures, a laser and four high-powered LED strobe lights on one bar. The unit also features built-in automated and sound activated programs, which are ideal for the dance floor.

Upon completion, Elster Pieterse reflected on working alongside the Audiosure Solutions team. “The entire process from the initial site meeting with the team, all the way to completion of the project, was seamless. I really enjoyed working with Audiosure, with their professionalism and attention to detail really standing out.”

Wharfedale Pro, Samson, Qbit and ChauvetDJ are all distributed by Audiosure in South Africa.