La Marina NYC's Outdoor Events Thrive with D.A.S. Audio

	Edwin Diaz at La Marina NYC.

Located at Dyckman Marina in upper Manhattan, the newly rebuilt La Marina NYC sports a restaurant, bar, lounge, and events space that covers more than 75,000-sq.-ft. of Hudson River waterfront. With world-class facilities and a breathtaking waterfront view, it is rapidly becoming the place to see and be seen. La Marina NYC's waterfront area is where all the high profile live activity takes place and, to ensure a high level of speech intelligibility and music reproduction for all their events, the venue's management recently took delivery of a new sound reinforcement system drawn from the WR Series catalog of Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio.

North Bergen, New Jersey-based E&A Sound LLC, which in addition to its design / build services also runs an audio and video rental operation, was contracted to design and install the sound system for La Marina NYC's waterfront area. After meeting with company management to ascertain their requirements for the project, E&A Sound elected to deploy D.A.S. Audio's WR-6412DX two-way, passive outdoor point source loudspeakers, which are specifically designed for outdoor applications -- with the DX version of the product rated for the highest levels of outdoor exposure.

"La Marina is a very active place," states Edwin Diaz, E&A Sound's owner. "Every weekend, there are a variety of events that include live music performances from bands of all genres as well as DJ appearances. Because all of this takes place outside, we needed a sound system that offered excellent speech intelligibility characteristics in addition to being a solid music reproduction system. Equally important, being outside in the heart of New York City, we needed loudspeakers capable of delivering the sound pressure levels and throw to properly cover this area. With their excellent sound quality and robust, weatherproof designs, the D.A.S. WR series loudspeakers made an excellent choice."

For the La Marina NYC project, Diaz and his crew deployed 18 WR-6412DX loudspeakers. The WR-6412DX incorporates a 12" high power woofer with a 3" voice coil that is coupled with a 1.5" annular diaphragm compression driver. The system utilizes a 60-degree by 40-degree rotatable horn design -- all of which is housed in a rugged birch plywood cabinet employing a fiberglass exterior and a gel coat sealed interior that is available in black or white. The D.A.S. WR Series loudspeakers are available in two exposure ratings: CX for covered exposures and DX for direct outdoor exposure.

At La Marina NYC, the E&A Sound team, with the assistance of audio specialist Eric Liz, deployed three WR-6412DX enclosures per side at the stage area plus another six L-R delay systems. The first delay is 40' from the stage while the other five delays are positioned 15' apart from each other. To cover a space of roughly 170' from the stage to the back of the beach area, all delay loudspeakers are positioned across from each other.

When queried about those characteristics that made D.A.S. Audio's WR Series loudspeakers the right choice for this project, Diaz mentioned several key features. "First and foremost comes audio quality," he said, "and the WR-6412DX is first rate. You can clearly understand what's being said and music reproduction sounds clear and natural. We also needed a compact and powerful loudspeaker that could handle all types of program material and, again, the WR Series proved ideal. And, of course, being an outdoor installation, the loudspeakers had to be optimized for weather protection, which is exactly what the WR Series is all about."

Diaz was also very complimentary of D.A.S. Audio's customer and technical support services. "D.A.S. Audio's Miami-based office was extremely helpful throughout this project. Ramon Franco, one of the company's systems specialists, was terrific. He made certain all my questions got answered and offered various suggestions to ensure the best possible performance from the system. I also want to express my gratitude and appreciation to Jaime Villegas and Susana Sosa for all their help. D.A.S. has the best support you could ever ask for."

La Marina NYC's new sound system was installed at the beginning of the summer season and, according to Diaz, has been operating very well, "This is a very high-end place that attracts all kind of celebrities. I wanted a loudspeaker that not only sounds good, but looks good as well -- and the D.A.S. WR Series was just right. Since the installation, all the various artists have been very satisfied with the new system. Equally important, the owners have been very happy with the new system. In a nutshell, they were 'amazed' by the performance of the equipment. Between the quality of the equipment and the level of D.A.S. Audio's support, this project was a win-win for everyone involved."

To learn more about the services of E&A Sound LLC, contact the company at 917-721-6653.