Daniel J SaitA discreet full range Sonance music system adds just the right atmosphere to a large newly designed outdoor terrace at a luxury country hotel near Bath, Somerset.
Nestling within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Beauty, Homewood is a privately owned boutique hotel promising fine dining and bespoke service within a secluded ten-acre country house setting.
Recently completely refurbished, the large Georgian manor house provides stimulating mix of period and modern design, indoor and alfresco dining experiences, twenty-one luxurious bedrooms/suites and a spa, all expertly curated by owners Ian and Christa Taylor to offer a ‘refreshingly-individual approach to hospitality’.
According to the Taylors, “Homewood offers us an opportunity to create a truly luxury boutique country property and to do something different to what everybody else is doing locally”.
A major part of this ambition focuses on the completion of an elegant new outdoor terrace as a restaurant space for the summer months. Ian has devoted all his energy and vision to recreate an authentic outdoor dining experience serving breakfast, lunches, afternoon teas and evening meals cooked on the terrace, involving big sharing plates, an imaginatively stocked bar and just the right level of high quality audio from a discreetly installed Sonance Landscape 16.2 channel outdoor sound system.
Playlists especially created for different times of the day are designed to draw guests to the terrace, adding atmosphere while stimulating conversations rather than dominating them. By complementing the cuisine on any night, the music helps to evoke the mood of an Italian piazza or a Mediterranean terrace for instance, making Homewood’s alfresco dining truly memorable and unique to the area.
The Project
For specification and installation of the sound system, Ian turned to Tim Moss, managing director of Moss of Bath, an established and respected local audio / visual retailer and custom installation specialist. Tim takes up the story, “Moss of Bath had previously been involved with other Bath hotels under Ian’s ownership, notably Number 15, The Abbey and The Bird. Last year we had supplied and installed the bedroom televisions, the UHF distribution system and internal audio installation within Homewood. With the new terrace project, I knew that Ian wanted an outdoor speaker system that would reflect the quality of the Homewood experience.
“Having just completed a similar installation at a property in Dorset using the stunning Sonance Landscape product, I immediately recommended the system to Ian. My colleague and Moss of Bath sales director Harvey Samways, was so impressed with the Landscape product that he installed a system at his home, this allowed Ian to audition the speakers.”
Tim adds, “We’ve discovered that the excellent detail and bandwidth available from Sonance actually allows the system to run at a lower volume level while keeping the perception of audio quality. In this way the system produces a relaxing backdrop, encouraging social interaction without competing with it. It’s perfect for the subtle but enveloping audio quality and control that Ian was seeking for the terrace.”
The Plan
Working with Habitech (UK distributor for the brand), Tim selected a Sonance Landscape system in a 16.2 configuration to deliver even coverage of full-range sound over the terrace’s substantial 460 sq m area. Sixteen Sonance LS4T 4.5in two-way landscape satellite speakers mounted on ground stakes and two LS12T 12in in-ground subs are discreetly installed within a surrounding gravel soakaway and powered by twin Sonance DSP2-750 two-channel amplifiers.
Camouflaged in a dark brown all-weather composite to the highest 810G and IP66 standards, the satellite speakers and sub-woofers are positioned to project inwards from the perimeter in accordance to traditional Sonance garden sound design and blend with their environment with the help of strategically placed planters and pots.
“The installation went like a dream,” says Tim, “which is just as well because COVID restrictions gave the team just ten days to survey the site and install the system before the hotel reopened on July 4 in line with Government guidelines. We are really indebted to Habitech who pulled out all the stops with specification, coverage plan and the timely delivery of everything we needed, including the accessories and cable.”
The Performance
Tim continues, “The team on-site were so impressed with the audio quality reproduced by the speakers they were sending video back to me in the office. The audio distribution is so evenly spread that you can enjoy just the right level of richly detailed sound no matter where you sit on the terrace. Ian, as well as his general manager and the staff at Homewood, have been bowled over by the success of the Sonance installation, and have received positive feedback from the guests who have noticed the clarity and depth of the system.”
Word is spreading. Friday nights on the terrace have become very popular for their party atmosphere and the ‘instagrammability’ of the setting.
“Great dining and music quality are putting Homewood on the map for a very wide demographic, says Tim, “especially during the lockdown recovery phase when everyone feels a little safer outside. “Ian Taylor invited us to create an ‘unforgettable’ experience, and with help from Habitech and Sonance I think we have accomplished exactly that.”
Essential Kit List
LS4T (SON-93369)
Two-way loudspeaker
Tweeter Diameter: 25 mm (1.0in) PEI dome
Woofer Diameter: 114 mm (4.5in)
Frequency Response: 75Hz – 20kHz ±3dB
Transformer Taps: 70V: 40W, 20W, 10W, 5W; 100V: 40W, 20W, 10W; 8Ω
Listening Area: 60˚ coverage, 10′- 50′ distance
LS12T SUB (SON-93104)
In-ground subwoofer
Woofer Diameter: 305 mm (12″)
Frequency Response: 22Hz – 100Hz ±3dB
Transformer: 70V: 300W, 150W, 75W; 100V: 300W, 150W; 8Ω
SONAMP DSP 2-750 MkII (SON-93379)
Output Power:
8Ω: 500 W RMS per channel (all channels driven)
4Ω: 750 W RMS per channel (all channels driven)
8Ω (Bridged): 2000 W
Frequency Response: 5Hz – 50kHz ±3dB
Auto-on (audio / trigger)
Dimensions (W x H x D mm):
438 x 98 x 427 (with feet)
482 x 88 x 427 (with rack ears, without feet)
SCP 14-4 direct burial gel speaker cable