Cirkus Complex, Stockholm Sweden
Situated in Stockholm’s Royal Djurgården district, the Cirkus theatre complex is one of Sweden’s most significant players in the entertainment and hospitality industries. It recently opened a new restaurant, where an Alcons system has been trusted to deliver sound that complements its high quality food, service and entertainment.
Cirkus restaurant
Cirkus first opened in 1892 to house many of Sweden’s prominent circus companies. It has evolved and expanded over the decades to host many different forms of entertainment, including theatre, musicals, dance, concerts, corporate events and television productions. It’s nowadays owned by Pop House Sweden – a company whose principal owners are Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus and investment banker Conni Jonsson.
“We placed our trust in Electrosound to choose the best solution and we are really happy with their choice of Alcons. The system has exceptional clarity, power and we are extremely pleased with the result.” Cirkus CEO Ingmari Pagenkemper
The new Restaurant Djurgården offers classic dishes with a modern touch, ‘inspired by the odd and unexpected’. Brollan Söderström of systems integrator Electrosound AB was asked to supply and install an audio system for the restaurant, its performance stage, bar and the Ernst Rolfe VIP lounge. As with the entire Cirkus experience, the emphasis was on the highest quality, so an Alcons Audio pro-ribbon system was the obvious choice.
“The restaurant has difficult acoustics. Half of it has a glass ceiling and all of the internal architecture is historic, and therefore protected, so there was no chance to do anything to improve the acoustics of the space,” says Brollan. “The customer trusted us to choose the right equipment and the super clear, high resolution audio of an Alcons pro-ribbon system was the best solution to overcome such a difficult room.”
Brollan specified 12 Alcons VR8 compact 8” versatile monitors plus 26 black and 15 white VR5 mini versatile 5” monitors for the distributed audio in the restaurant, bar and VIP area, The white VR5s were manufactured using Alcons’ Architect Color Option (ACO), which allows Alcons loudspeakers to be supplied in any of over 180 colours from the European RAL colour scheme. The compact size and different colour finishes of the VR5s enabled the audio system to blend into the décor, while delivering seamless sound.
Four QR24/110 modular 4x 6,5” line-source array columns and two double 15” BF302 mkII high output subwoofers were installed for the performance stage, the audio also being routed to the main VR system. The system is powered and controlled by Sentinel3 and Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controllers.
The QR24, fitted with 2 12“ tall RBN1203 pro-ribbon drivers coaxially mounted in front of 4 x 6,5“ woofers, is designed to realize an optimal intelligibility in even the most reverberant spaces; The natural cylindrical projection of the pro-ribbon driver, minimizes sound projection against reflective ceiling and floor surfaces.
“This was the first time we had installed the QR24 and we were really impressed by it,” notes Brollan. “The QR24 was the perfect choice due to its dispersion behaviour and extremely powerful and natural sound. It also has an ideal design for this quite narrow stage. The QR24 column with its special slim-design stand was unobtrusively mounted tight to the stage proscenium; A very important parameter for all architects involved in this restauration process.”
“We placed our trust in Electrosound to choose the best solution and we are really happy with their choice of Alcons,” adds Cirkus CEO Ingmari Pagenkemper. “The system has exceptional clarity, power and we are extremely pleased with the result.”
More information on: www.cirkus.se and www.electrosound.se
