In addition to food, Pirates Paradise, a new restaurant and entertainment venue near Lille, France, features a spectacular pirate ship interior, hourly pirate shows and a large play area. The swashbuckling entertainment is central to the success of the concept. To ensure that visitors are immersed in the experience, the creators placed audio excellence as an essential requirement. A suite of P.A. products from CODA Audio ensures even coverage for the background music that plays during meals and speech reinforcement during the lively hourly shows.
Owner Jérôme Descamps explained, “My dream was to create the best restaurant I could, offering great decor, furniture, atmosphere and food supported by a fantastic sound system. It was important to me to do everything properly, so I engaged a company that could help spec me the highest quality audio on the market.”
Pirates Paradise reached out to local company Public Address, with general manager Gregory Devilder and head of technical Benjamin Pauwels taking up the challenge. Public Address designed the audio system from drawings while the venue was being built. Their goal was to deliver even audio coverage in the large space while guaranteeing speech intelligibility during the entertainment. They recommended CODA Audio for the project.
The main P.A. comprises two hangs of two CODA Audio CoRAY4i cabinets and a single G18SUB subwoofer flown head-on as the space is entered, L-R above a row of “drinking houses.” On the left- and right-hand sides of the restaurant are the pirate ship and “jail,” each of which is accented by two CoRAY4i cabinets and two G15SUB subwoofers.
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The CoRAY4i is the installation version of the CoRAY4, optimized for permanent applications. It features high power handling of 700W, achieved with dual 4-inch high-frequency neodymium planar wave drivers and four 5-inch ultra-low distortion cone speakers. By altering the CoRAY4i’s horizontal and asymmetrical coverage, the audio team is able to eliminate unwanted reflections caused by the large space and its many textured surfaces, thereby increasing speech intelligibility.
The G18SUB subwoofers, hidden in the scenery throughout the venue, offer powerful and extended low frequency response down 28 Hz and a maximum SPL of 139 dB. The G15SUB subwoofers used on the wings of the venue offer a similar spec but with a 15-inch driver.
The system was designed in conjunction with CODA Audio France, whose Yves Guegan and Philippe Pelmelle made suggestions for loudspeaker and subwoofer placements. Present during installation, the pair assisted with fine-tuning.
After electricians spent about a month running cables, Public Address and CODA Audio France moved in to complete the fit-out over the course of two weeks. “We carried out a lot of tests ahead of opening,” said Pauwels. “There is no delay in this system because we have people everywhere, so it was important that everything was tuned and aligned correctly.”
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Aside from the main P.A., a combination of CODA Audio HOPS5, HOPS8i and D5s were installed to ensure even coverage around the room. The compact D5 two-way coaxial loudspeaker sits discreetly within the scenery, delivering “true one point source output,” according to Pauwels. These are housed in the jail area, by the skull volcano and next to the pirate ship.
Centrally over the diners are two trusses, each of which hold four HOPS8i that acts as fills. Up on the mezzanine level, which plays a role in the nightly performance, are two HOPS5 and another G15SUB bass cabinet. Completing the P.A. lineup, four HOPS8i and two U12-SUBs are at home in the bar area.
The system is powered by seven CODA Audio LiNUS10C amplifiers, which feature integrated DSP. The four-channel loudspeaker management amplifiers provide 10,000W of total RMS power output, and incorporate four-in/four-out DSP, network and amplification.
CODA Audio • https://codaaudio.com
Public Address • www.public-address.fr
Pirates Paradise • https://lille.pirates-paradise.fr
