Sixth Sense Solutions of Houston, TX is quite in-tune with approaching large-scale commercial projects—from AV to security to automation systems—and customizing systems that work best for buildings and their occupants. In 2018, Sixth Sense was brought on by one of its repeat clients to install the AV for a brand-new cardiology surgical center in Humble, TX called Vital Heart & Vein.
The general contractor admitted that his team got carried away and distracted with the construction and other elements of the sizeable project, and had forgotten about the customer’s AV needs. When Sixth Sense was brought into the loop, the building was almost complete, so they needed to work fast. They began by assessing the scope of the project immediately amongst a packed worksite of almost 100 other contractors. This required them to maneuver through sheet rock, almost-complete ceilings, and other barriers. They also worked alongside the electrician which required constant communication to ensure the electrical lines were installed at a safe distance from the 70-volt speaker wire to avoid any possible distortion.
Despite a limited amount of time and circumventing several physical and project barriers, Sixth Sense Solutions owner Jerry Shanar worked with the customer to suggest a comprehensive AV installation that would come together to create a harmonious system to round out the already technologically advanced building design.
The project and building management teams envisioned an AV system that would fit seamlessly into the new tech-savvy facility and help make it a more comfortable environment while also serving a number of operational needs.
“The nature of a surgical center can cause a high level of stress in patients, so the building managers wanted us to create a setting where music could be streamed in each room to soothe and create a less sterile atmosphere,” said Shanar. “We also wanted to give surgeons and doctors the flexibility to choose the music they listen to in their offices or surgery sites, so the ability to control AV wirelessly was critical.”
Additionally, the customer requested they find a way to block noise generated in the attached call center, as they anticipated the simultaneous conversations happening from cubicle to cubicle would be quite disruptive.
To give the staff the ability to listen to different content from room-to-room, Shanar decided to independently wire the rooms using multi-zone amplifiers all running on the same network rather than tying them together. Over 27 zones were installed as well as 10 Denon HEOS streamers, across three floors and over 60,000 square feet.
Being a technologically advanced building running on 70-volt power with six feet of open air between the ceiling tiles and the roof, Shanar determined that speakers with built-in backboxes were required±otherwise, the sound would be compromised due to the circulation of the additional open air.
To remedy this, Shanar decided on speakers from Beale Street Audio, over 125 in total. Shanar had first heard of Beale Street from LRG rep Kenny Hilton and ADI’s Philip Wood who both raved about the brand. After taking their advice and using Beale Street in a previous project and loving the sound and ease of installation, Shanar knew exactly which brand he wanted to install for Vital Heart & Vein.
“Unlike most speaker brands, Beale Street Audio solutions are brilliantly designed to be incredibly installer-friendly, giving integrators like me the versatility, powerful sound, and customizable adjustments ideal for any installation,“ said Shanar.
"The Vital Heart and Vein project had rooms that were 20 ft x 20 ft, but we were restricted to installing only two speakers. Beale Street Audio’s patented Sonic Vortex Technology offers stellar acoustics with a 6dB boost in the mid-lower bass that can fill any room with 3D sound regardless of the source and size," he continued. "And, the speaker models we chose include built-in enclosures with wattage taps on the back, which are very useful because the speaker can be cranked up by 5, 10, or 20+ watts. With a simple wattage adjustment we were able to ensure each room was fully enveloped in sound despite using fewer speakers.”
Being a brand-new building, the aesthetics of the speakers were also important. “A lot of 70-volt speakers look like elevator speakers,” said Shanar. “We wanted a nice and clean bezel-less design. Knowing my customer it was important the speakers didn’t draw attention to themselves. His request was that they look sleek and modern while also offering extraordinary sound in order to emulate the overall look-and-feel of the entire building.”
As the installation was almost complete, the building team asked for some last-minute changes, including 18 new displays spread across nine recovery rooms, the conference room, and other areas of the facility. The addition of over a dozen volume controls (for a total of 18) was also requested to give staff individual control of most rooms throughout the building. Jerry’s team also installed Beale Street Audio D2.1 amplifiers and Logitech Harmony 350 remotes in the executive office and conference room to provide users the ability to switch between sources (DISH Network, music, and HDMI for presentations), while utilizing all speakers in the dedicated rooms.
Vital Heart & Vein opened in its new completed location in early 2019 and the systems have been running smoothly. “This was a project that had a lot of intricacies and challenges that we had to meet in a short period of time," concluded Shanar.. "Choosing Beale Street Audio for the large-scale speaker installation was a key component of our success and ability to meet these tight deadlines. With Beale you can simply pop a ceiling tile, flip a switch, install it and you’re done. And you can rest assured knowing that you’re installing premium sound quality at the same time.”
The president of the facility, Dr. Mazen Ganim, was very particular around his needs for the building, has an eye for design and envisioned the building to be simple, sleek, and modern. “The sound quality surpasses all expectations and the user interface is very intuitive,” said Ganim. “The AV is truly exceptional and the team at Sixth Sense Solutions’ professionalism and knowledgeable approach helped make it a seamless and enjoyable experience from start to finish. A great job with truly amazing results!”
