The legendary Los Angeles Mint Club has updated a 20-year-old sound system under the guidance of owner Todd Christiansen.
Christiansen had two main objectives for the investment – to enhance sightlines in the low-ceilinged 1937-era building and to install a system befitting a club that’s hosted some of music’s greatest performers, including Stevie Wonder, Willie Dixon, Natalie Cole and Ray Charles; as well as more contemporary acts such as Ben Harper, Macy Gray, and The Wallflowers.
Working with Vue Technical Sales Manager Greg Kirkland, the Mint team – consisting of Manager Curtis Bushey and Head of Production Jonathan Allee – specified the Vue’s new dual 8-inch, h-208 high-definition loudspeaker to anchor the new system.
‘The h-208 was designed specifically for applications where low ceiling height is a concern, but fidelity and output absolutely cannot be compromised,’ Kirkland explains. ‘The low-profile cabinet incorporates our beryllium HF, two purpose-engineered 8-inch transducers, and precision DSP courtesy of the onboard VueDrive electronics. The combination delivers unrestricted fidelity and output from a deceptively small footprint that’s ideal for The Mint’s low, 9-foot ceilings.’
The new, all-Vue system consists of h-208 self-powered modules as mains, a-10 two-way passive systems as fills, and a pair of as-418 floor-mounted subwoofers. A single V6-d VueDrive Systems Engine provides power and processing for the subwoofers.
The h-208s replaced the prior system’s trapezoidal clusters, freeing more than ten inches of vertical sightline space, while dramatically improving output and fidelity.
According to Kirkland, everyone from the management team to the patrons and artists are pleased with the upgrade: ‘The resounding compliments include the system’s outstanding sonic clarity, great low end and the massively improved sightlines between stage and audience,’ he reports.
‘We appreciate the clarity and power of the Vue system along with an improved sightline due to the compact size of the h-208s,’ adds Allee. ‘The sub bass is outstanding, we’ve never had such a pure balanced low end as that which the as-418s provide.’
‘From Chicago’s Apollo Theater to DelMar Hall in St Louis, the word is definitely out among live venue owners that Vue delivers the highest-fidelity performance even in the most challenging, space-constrained venues,’ says Vue founder and CEO Ken Berger.
More: www.vueaudio.com
