Tod's Copley Place Relies on Bose to Create the Ambience for the Luxury Retailer's First US Location

The new Boston location of high-end Italian luxury goods retailer Tod's, located in the city's Copley Place, reflects the brand's new global concept, which combines a contemporary design aesthetic with solid elements of traditional Italian craftsmanship. Fittingly, the new 3,200-sq.ft. store has state-of-the-art sound featuring Bose Professional EdgeMax EM180 in-ceiling premium loudspeakers. Just four EM180 speakers fill the entire store, powered using a single Bose PowerShare adaptable power amplifier and managed by a Bose ControlSpace ESP-00 Series II engineered sound processor.

"We encountered the EdgeMax at last year's InfoComm Show, and our engineers were very excited about it," recalls Brian Van Hecke, president of OnSite Media, the AV systems integrator that designed and installed the Bose EdgeMax sound system as part of an entire low-voltage system that also includes the store's video, phones, and data platforms. "Tod's was looking for an invisible speaker, something unobtrusive, but that could envelop the store with sound. The EdgeMax EM180 hit all the right notes for that."

Randy Prondzinski, head of engineering at OnSite Media, says that from the integrator's point of view, the EdgeMax system was simple and straightforward to install and wire, plus he says he and his staff were pleasantly surprised by what just four EdgeMax speakers could deliver. "The best thing about the EdgeMax is that they provide a lot more sound, and better sound, than your typical surface-mount speaker," he explains. "We put them near the corners, against the walls, and that enhances their low-frequency response, so you have full-range sound covering the entire store from just four speaker locations, without the need for a sub." And that capability reflects another benefit of the EdgeMax speaker: "This system has fewer speakers than the one we had originally specified for this project, and it delivers better sound and coverage," says Van Hecke. "The EdgeMax is a great solution for any retail client. It's a step up in sound quality that uses fewer speakers, which reduces the cost and makes interior design easier, since there's less hardware to work around. EdgeMax offers retailers an excellent value proposition."

Bose Professional EdgeMax in-ceiling premium loudspeakers feature proprietary Bose PhaseGuide technology with high-frequency compression drivers to create a new category that combines the room-filling coverage patterns typical of larger surface-mount speakers with the architect-preferred aesthetics of in-ceiling models. Designed to mount near wall-ceiling boundaries, EdgeMax loudspeakers provide improved audio quality and coverage, the company says, while reducing the number of required units, compared to conventional dome-tweeter ceiling speakers.

Anthony Cipolla, Tod's group project manager, states, "The Bose audio system was seamlessly installed and embedded into the store. The audio system is simply superb. The speakers offer an exceptional audio experience while delicately blending within the store's context."

"We're very happy with the way this installation turned out," says Van Hecke. "The EdgeMax sounds great, and we plan on using it for a lot of installations to come."