Meyer Sound Raises the Bar at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club

The accolades are nonstop at New York's recently renovated 40/40 Club, owned by hip-hop superstar Jay-Z and partner Juan Perez. As part of the multimillion-dollar renovation, a huge complement of Meyer Sound loudspeaker systems is installed throughout the 12,000-sq. ft. nightclub from the main floor and the VIP lounges to the bathrooms and hallway.

Fort Lee, New Jersey-based JD Audio & Video Design (JDAV Design) handled design and installation of an audiovisual package that also includes four three-by-three video wall arrays -- each measuring 165" -- and over thirty 55" LED flat-panel HD monitors.

According to JDAV Design president Gabriel Karlis, 40/40 Club's proprietors had previously installed a sound system that featured equipment from various manufacturers. "I kept telling them that Meyer is a much clearer-sounding system," he recalls. "You can't come close to the overall clarity."

"Even out of the box, pre-tuned, the system was blowing people's minds," adds JDAV Design's vice president of engineering, Kevin Nellen. "Then we tuned it, and I was blown away individually, section by section. When we time-aligned everything and turned it into one big system, it was really pretty amazing."

Perez is impressed with his customers' response to the upgrade. "Both our clients and friends have been blown away with the clarity of the sound," he says.

The main floor of the 40/40 Club features two UPA-1P and two UPQ-1P loudspeakers, five MM-4XP self-powered loudspeakers, two Meyer Sound 600-HP subwoofers, three MM-10 miniature subwoofers, and a Galileo loudspeaker management system with two Galileo 616 processors.

The mezzanine level houses two UPJunior VariO loudspeakers, three MM-4XP self-powered loudspeakers, three 500-HP subwoofers, and two MM-10 miniature subwoofers.

Upstairs are five VIP lounges available for private events, each outfitted with Meyer Sound equipment. The elit Lounge houses four 48V, DC-powered UP-4XP loudspeakers and a UMS-1P subwoofer, while the Corzo Lounge features two UP-4XP loudspeakers, one miniature MM-4XP loudspeaker, and a UMS-1P subwoofer.

The Owner's Suite and Player's Lounge each include two UP-4XP loudspeakers and one UMS-1P subwoofer. Last but not least, the Jay-Z Lounge houses four UP-4XP loudspeakers, and one UMS-1P subwoofer.

Even the bathrooms and hallway boast Meyer Sound in the form of six Stella-4C installation loudspeakers. And housed in the rack room are two more Galileo 616 loudspeaker management processors, as well as two MPS-488HP, and one Stella-188 power supply units.

As for the club's video, a Crestron DM-MD32x32 DigitalMedia matrix switcher provides control of the video wall arrays and flat-panel monitors.

"It's a very complex system," says Karlis, "but with all its capabilities, it ended up being very simple for the end user."