VIP Room Bowls a Strike with FBT

	"The Eight" enjoys an FBT sound system.

When guests at Canandaigua's Roseland Bowl rent "The Eight," an eight-lane enclosed VIP room for private events, they now enjoy a high tech bowling experience, complete with black light reactive lanes, a laser light show, and an FBT sound system. Justin Wyman, owner of JWI Audio, chose the brand for a variety of reasons, ranging from their minimalistic, designer look to their pure sound and dispersion capability, something that came in very handy for the challenging space.

In addition to overhead music, The Eight's sound system needed to support video media including corporate presentations shown on four projectors at the end of the lanes. With this in mind, Wyman needed a brand that could handle both the high volume of pumping music and the clarity and precision needed for the spoken word in a cavernous space. Equally important, he wanted speakers that looked as good as they sounded.

"The space has shorter ceilings -- only 15' high -- and despite the width being narrow, the lanes are 60' long," said Wyman. "I needed speakers that were visually unassuming so there wouldn't be monstrous cabinets hanging from the ceiling. I used four FBT MITUS 206 line arrays because of their narrow vertical dispersion and profile. They not only look clean and attractive, but seem to disappear on the ceiling. We also used two of FBT's X SUB 18SA subs. It all minimized room interaction, so we were able to get a really pure sound, directed exactly where we wanted it needed to go."

JWI Audio offers lighting, sound, staging, and production services for a variety of events and venues, in addition to their expertise in design and installation. Wyman, who has been in the sound business for more than 20 years, also brings diverse experience to the company. Having started out in car audio, he moved on to residential installations and even designed and built his own speakers before taking on the world of pro audio. Each of these phases in his career gave him a comprehensive perspective in the business.

"What I've learned in one area of the business usually comes in handy when I'm working with a unique challenge or limitation in another area," said Wyman. "Having experience in varying environments teaches you a lot about how to troubleshoot when challenges come up. Knowing how to handle a variety of spaces just makes you better, more versatile, and innovative when you're planning the variety of installations we do."

As for FBT, Wyman cites the brand's sound quality, attractive design, and customer service as some of the many reasons he chooses their equipment. One thing, however, always impresses him: "I really like how FBT speakers hold their composure at higher output volumes," said Wyman. "Some cabinets just completely run out of gas, while the FBT units don't seem to ever hit a wall -- and the sound quality never suffers, no matter how loud it gets."