— Bill Francis, owner, Francis Audio/Visual,
Syracuse, NY
A: The best method for installing a projector in
an existing suspended ceiling with a 10-foot deck
height is to use a Chief CMA440 Suspended Ceiling
Kit. First, reinforce the tile grid and Suspended
Ceiling Kit to existing ceiling grid supports with
cable clamps. Then, after positioning the projector
mount for absolute center to screen, just cut the
existing tile for a finished look.
— Roly Jan, sales manager, systems integration,
Total AV Systems, Silver Spring, MD
Hearty
Appetite
Fine music highlights the menu
at Jackie's
- by Gregory A. DeTogne
If Elvis was alive today, he would no doubt have
the boys keep an eye on the Cadillac while he and
Priscilla (or Linda, Anita, Ginger, Dixie, Sherry,
etc.) occupied a private corner at Jackie's, a hip
and fun-loving new restaurant-cum-nightspot just
outside the capital beltway in Silver Springs , MD.
The visit would be inevitable, for in the greater
cosmic order of things, Elvis and Jackie are kindred
spirits, sharing a true passion for Southern-style
victuals as well as music. Sure-fire starters at the
Presley table would have to include Jackie's popular
"Elvis Burgers" (mini-hamburgers topped with pimento
cheese). Dinner would likely be meatloaf, mashed
potatoes, and green beans, or maybe skillet-fried
chicken. Providing that touch of home The King often
misses on the road, the funky ambience of the dining
room's shag carpet, heart-shaped throw pillows, and
bouncy, colorful lighting would nicely complement
the evening, as would the music, which is piped in
via a sophisticated and versatile sound system
designed and built by Total Audio Visual Systems, a
full-service systems integration firm also based in
Silver Springs.
Sadly, The King will never get to savor the food
and music at Jackie's, but fortunately we can. The
brainchild of Jackie Greenbaum and ex-husband
Patrick Higgins, Jackie's is a one-time body shop
that has been transformed into one of D.C.'s most
distinctive gathering places. Retaining its bare
brick walls, high ceiling, and exposed ductwork, the
restaurant houses a bar, lounge, and its main dining
area below street level. Pink leatherette seats mix
freely with mod print upholstery, while across the
rear wall, an open kitchen allows diners and cooks
to greet each other face-to-face. Young and old
alike are comfortable here, returning in droves to
feast on "nostalgia plate" specials and a decidedly
good-time vibe.
"The menu is indeed awesome," notes Total Audio
Visual Systems' Roly Jan, who regularly entertains
clients here. "But an equal part of the room's
drawing power is the systems quality. Jackie has a
hearty appetite for fine music and superb sound, so
both definitely play principal roles in her formula
for success."
Divided into six zones, Jackie's is served by
source program material currently including
computer-generated tunes as well as CDs. Built with
expansion in mind to accommodate a DJ and live music
in the future, the audio system is collectively
drawn from a gear list dominated by components
supplied by Chester, PA-based Inter-M Americas (IMA).
Roly Jan and Richard Shaeer, IMA's independent sales
rep for the region, share design credits for the
rig, which combines the pure presence of audiophile
quality with simplicity of control and operation.
In the main dining room, a dozen coaxial,
eight-inch SA 802 ceiling speakers from AMK
operating at eight ohms receive power from a pair of
L-800 two-channel amplifiers from Inter-M. Matrix
control for this space--as well as all other
zones--is entrusted to an Inter-M PX-0288 8x8 matrix
mixer. Allowing local audio sources to be routed in
any combination to up to eight zones using local or
remote control, the PX-0288 is capable of receiving
up to eight local music sources at a time, while
local and remote paging capabilities are provided
with priority override. In the main dining area (as
well as all other zones again), wall-mounted PS-88
remote program selectors also from Inter-M interface
with the PX-0288 matrix controller, offering quick,
easy, fingertip access to any available source as
well as priorities via an LED display.
Equalization was only required in the dining room
area and gallery. Here, DSP-based, two-channel
GEQ-2231 units once again plucked from the Inter-M
catalog each serve up 31 bands of graphic EQ
dedicated to each space individually, while
additionally offering limiting, a 24-bit A/D
converter, and 64 Hz sampling frequency.
"EQ was needed in the dining room and the gallery
because of the high ceilings and bare brick walls,"
Jan confides. "They are raw, reverberant spaces,
where, without some processing, you could easily
turn off the sound system one night, then come in
the next morning and still hear it playing. The
GEQ-2231s gave us DSP performance at an affordable
price, plus analog-style controls, which helped us
maintain our quest for keeping things simple to
use."
The rig was initially tuned by Jan and the Total
Audio Visual Systems crew. After their first pass,
Richard Shaeer came in and offered his fine-tuning
services to even better effect. "It worked out very
well all the way around," Jan is happy to report now
that the design has established a track record of
performing flawlessly for between 16 and 18 hours
each day. "We built a turnkey package using almost
one supplier, and it really came full circle for us.
The system is straightforward, powerful, and
reliable, plus it provides the superior sound
demanded of the task. From this point on, there's
not much to say except enjoy, and bon appetit.."
As seen in "Systems Contractor News", 2005
AV Draws Diners To
Beltway Restaurant
Systems fun for all occasions
is on the menu at Jackie's
- by Gregory A. DeTogne
Challenge:
To entice patrons into one of the D.C.
area's hottest eateries with an AV bill of fare that
adds more fun to dining and rocks out after-hours,
all within a less-than-hospitable acoustical
environment.
Solution: Implement a
design blending the best of commercial and
professional audio components that brings
versatility and controlled performance to the space,
as well as a unique projection system and two-sided
screen.
---
As it's been popularly said, if you remember the
'70s, you probably weren't there. On the other hand,
if you go back in time before the Watts riots and
Charles Manson, it gets easier to recall the '60s,
and that's when the more innocent moments of the
decade gave us Dippity-Do hairstyles, girls dancing
in go-go cages, and the colorful, free-form world of
psychedelia.
Located just outside the Washington D.C. beltway
in Silver Spring, MD, Jackie's is a hot new
restaurant paying homage to just that era with a
hip, funked-up atmosphere that shamelessly and
successfully celebrates the intrinsic goodness of
shag carpet, heart-shaped throw pillows, pink
leatherette, mod-print upholstery, and bouncy,
colorful lighting.
A one-time warehouse and garage built in the
1920s, Jackie's is the latest creative expression of
real estate developer Jackie Greenbaum and
ex-husband/restaurateur Patrick Higgins. Retaining
its bare brick walls, high ceiling, and exposed
ductwork, the restaurant houses a bar, lounge, and
its main dining area below street level. In the
dining room, an "exhibition" kitchen spans the rear
wall, its open space offering diners full view of
food preparations overseen by celebrated D.C. chef
Ann Cashion. Young and old eat here regularly,
feasting on "nostalgia plate" specials and a
decidedly good-time vibe.
A big part of the fun at Jackie's is music. AV
plays a large role too, adding color and artistic
imagery to a double-sided screen separating the bar
from the dining area.
"Jackie is very much into music and art," relates
Roly Jan of Total Audio Visual Systems, a systems
integration firm also based in Silver Spring that
implemented a versatile AV blueprint crisscrossing
every inch of Jackie's floor space. "Quality music
and AV is a vital part of her draw. Music cranks up
the fun during dinner hours, then, after 10 P.M. ,
takes a turn toward nightclub levels, letting people
get up and dance if they want. AV really is part of
the decor. It's used to further Jackie's aura of
'60s coolness, and create other textures. This is a
happening location, definitely not the kind of place
where you'd find 20-30 video monitors tuned to
sports stations."
In accordance with a comprehensive AV plan,
Jackie's is divided into six dedicated zones of
audio: the bar, dining room, a gallery,
restroom/hallway areas, a private dining room, and
Jackie's office. Served by source program material
including computer-generated tunes as well as CDs,
the zones were constructed with expansion in mind to
accommodate a DJ and even live music in the future.
Gear within the audio system is collectively drawn
from a list of components dominated by Chester,
PA-based Inter-M Americas (IMA). Working with input
from Roly Jan and Jackie herself, Richard Shaeer,
IMA's independent sales rep for the region, penned
the audio design, which combines the pure presence
of high-end sonic quality with simple control
functions and day-in, day-out commercial
reliability.
Taking a distributed approach to the task at
hand, Shaeer's blueprint deployed a total of 36
coaxial, eight-inch SA 802/SA 872 ceiling speakers
from AMK Innovations operating at eight ohms within
all six zones, each of which receive power from
seven L-800 two-channel amplifiers from Inter-M.
Matrix control within each zone is managed by an
Inter-M PX-0288 8x8 matrix mixer. Permitting local
audio sources to be routed in any combination to up
to eight zones using local or remote control, the
PX-0288 is capable of receiving up to eight local
music sources at a time, while local and remote
paging capabilities are provided with priority
override.
Wall-mounted PS-88 remote program selectors also
from Inter-M in each zone interface with the PX-0288
matrix control, offering quick, easy, fingertip
access to any available source as well as priorities
via an LED display.
"Ease-of-use is as important within this
application as reliability," Roly Jan says. "Waiters
and waitresses--as well as the patrons themselves in
the private dining room--need to have quick and easy
control over the system. The PS-88 remotes from
Inter-M provide just that in an intuitive package
that anyone can operate without much thought. From
our perspective, they're a plus because they're
quick to install, look good in each room, and aren't
budget-breakers when it comes to cost."
To combat the acoustical ill effects presented by
the harsh, reflective brick surfaces and high
ceilings in the main dining area and gallery,
equalization was introduced using Inter-M DSP-based,
two-channel GEQ-2231 units serving up 31 bands of
graphic EQ dedicated to each space individually,
while additionally offering limiting, a 24-bit A/D
converter, and 64 Hz sampling frequency.
"These are raw reverberant spaces," Jan says of
the dining room and gallery. "With the GEQ-2231s,
however, we were able to tame each via DSP
performance managed with analog-style controls, a
feature which went a long way to promote our goal of
keeping things simple to use."
Because the house audio rig uses a high-density
distributed design run at low impedance instead of
70 volts, designer Richard Shaeer felt it was
imperative to provide equalization to optimize its
fidelity.
"I included the GEQ units to both improve the
general quality of sound and give us consistent
coverage through the restaurant," he explains,
providing insight into the philosophy guiding his
choices. "Since there are several speakers in each
zone, I needed something that would allow us to
correct some of the natural lobing that occurs in
the low/mid frequencies. The GEQs provided that
tool, and also let us to optimally fine-tune the
whole environment, then lock out our settings. Now,
wherever you go, the sound is the same. There are no
hotspots or places where you can't hear."
With its own sound reinforcement coming from the
house audio system, AV presentation at Jackie's
relies upon a Sony VPLCX70 XGA projector. Dishing up
2000 ANSI lumens of brightness, the ultra-compact
unit was hidden within the rafters of the bar area
and aimed at a 10-foot wide gauze-like material
separating the bar and dining room. With source
material coming from a laptop providing DVD playback
as well as still images of art and photos, the
projector displays images which, thanks to the
transparency of the loose, open, gauzy screen, can
be seen in the bar and dining room, as well as by
passers-by outside though the main front window.
"That's Jackie all right," Jan says, commenting
on the conceptual ideas behind the AV design.
"Creatively simple, yet brilliant. The AV display
can be a moving kaleidoscope of form and color, but
it didn't cost a lot. The double-sided nature of the
'screen' makes it accessible to far more people than
a traditional design would. It definitely catches
the eye, and lures people in from the sidewalk to
see what's going on. Jackie is an expert at
exploiting fun, she knows it's contagious. Like
everything else in the restaurant, AV is a part of
it all."
Commissioned late last year, the AV systems at
Jackie's have been running flawlessly for 16 to 18
hours each day since. Not wanting to miss out on the
fun himself, Jan takes clients there regularly to
show off his handiwork and nosh on Jackie's
legendary "Elvis Burgers"--tiny hamburgers topped
with pimento cheese.
"The menu is great," Jan adds. "And the ambience
jumps with energy and excitement. In the broader
scheme of things, Jackie's represents the best of
all worlds. There's good food, great music,
innovative AV, and an almost limitless room to
expand on a a systems level. For those with a hearty
appetite for these things and more, dinner at
Jackie's is anything but light and less filling."
SAVING THE MONEY: HOW THEY DID IT
Launching a restaurant like Jackie's takes time,
and money...lots of money. Like most start-up
entrepreneurs, owner Jackie Greenbaum hemorrhaged
cash getting her culinary dream off the ground. As a
result, when it came time to develop her
restaurant's AV build, funds were starting to run
short, but she refused to compromise on quality.
"Music, sonic integrity, and AV presentation are
an important part of Jackie's formula for success,"
says Richard Shaeer, designer of the restaurant's
audio blueprint. "But just like virtually any
project, the budget played a major role in what
could or couldn't be accomplished in terms of
meeting desired goals. We knew that Jackie had high
expectations when it came to quality. It may have
taken some head-scratching, but ultimately we got it
for her at a price she could afford."
Casting about to bring maximal bang-for-the-buck
to Jackie's, Shaeer and AV contractor Roly Jan
researched the market and found that the best way to
beat their budgetary demon was to take a systems
approach fulfilled by as few suppliers as possible.
With Shaeer's help, Jan, who had been searching
to devise an affordable and versatile systems
package plan that would work in wide-ranging
applications anyway, ultimately found what he was
looking for within the Inter-M catalog.
"Much of our work comes from the government and
Fortune 500-1000 companies," Jan says, describing
his client list. "Customers from both of these
markets come to us seeking turnkey designs.
Therefore, rather than having to go out and
piecemeal a system together using components from a
variety of manufacturers, we've found it saves time
and money if we provide the bulk--if not all--of the
components comprising a system from one source."
Inter-M, a company gaining favor throughout the
Americas for its broad product lines supporting
everything from hardcore commercial endeavors to
applications requiring sophisticated DSP processing,
stepped up to the plate at Jackie's with virtually
everything but the loudspeakers and projection
system, which came from AMK Innovations and Sony
respectively.
Following on the heels of demonstrations of
competitive offerings taking a decidedly mutliple-vendor
approach, the Inter-M-based system currently in use
was selected for its performance and sound quality,
not to mention its price tag.
"For the money, the performance couldn't be
beat," Jan says. "By essentially relying on one
supplier for almost everything, we obtained the
high-end technology needed, and provided a lot of
gear for less money. There was no other way we could
have practically met Jackie's expectations. After
she heard the demo, she knew she was getting a deal
she couldn't refuse--the whole job came in at right
around $19,000. She was pleased and excited at a
time she could have easily been trying to
rationalize the letdown of getting less than she
wanted. We gained from the experience too, as the
design has indeed gone on to serve as a profitable
and practical paradigm for other distributed
applications where quality counts, and dollars need
to be saved."
As seen in "ProAV" Magazine, 2005
Commercial Install: Eatery Goes Retro With AV