Set on the shores of the Vietnam island of Phu Quoc, Nam Nghi is among Southeast Asia’s most exclusive holiday venues. But while guests enjoy the landscape and facilities, technology from Symetrix and Ashly is hard at work behind the scenes.
The audio system at Nam Nghi was designed by audiovisual solutions specialist DesignLive Technologies, and uses a single Symetrix Prism DSP to serve each of its three primary zones – the Rock Bar, the Tree House Restaurant, and the main hotel complex with all-day dining and spa/gym facilities.
For, DesignLive founder Phu Tran Pham, there was never any doubt that the Prism processors would be a match for Nam Nghi Resort’s needs: ‘They offer a great blend of processing power, functionality, and attractive price points,’ he says, adding that DesignLive ‘implements Symetrix DSPs for all our hotel projects, and indeed for all of our audio projects of any kind over the past seven years’.
In all three zones at Nam Nghi, the Prism processors are integrated into a Dante network for maximum flexibility. In the Rock Bar, varying background music and DJ requirements are catered for with a single Prism 8x8 DSP used in conjunction with Attero Tech Dante interface wallplates. A similarly streamlined configuration is found in the Tree House Restaurant, where a Prism 4x4 processes Ashly amplifiers.
The set-up in the all-day dining area is more complex as it also caters for the adjacent spa/gym area. In the dining area a Prism 4x4 manages the BGM system, including Ashly amplifiers. A single Symetrix xIO 4x4 expander extends the system to the spa/gym amplifier rack via the hotel LAN, where local analogue inputs are available for instructors to connect their preferred music sources. Fibre and network drops also run from the all-day rack to the pool area, allowing for future expansion via Symetrix I/O expanders.
In tandem with delivering as much processing power from as little rack-space as possible, the DesignLive team was also asked to guarantee flexible control for hotel operations to allow easy adjustment of volume and other settings. Symetrix ARC-2e wall interfaces have been provided for ‘physical’ control at each zone, while SymVue provides the hotel’s technical personnel with an integrated master control panel via laptop, enabling them to make tweaks on the fly via the ARC-Web interface for iPad and smartphone.
‘Yet again, the Symetrix processors have proven to be a match for the many and varied requirements of a modern luxury resort,’ says Phu, adding that a single Symetrix Jupiter 4 has also been supplied for a mobile PA system that is used in various spaces around the complex. ‘In particular in the spa/gym area, they have given Nam Nghi Resort a degree of future-proofing so they can add more functionality as their requirements evolve.’
Nam Nghi Entertainment & Events Manager, Wassili Quist, is delighted with the result: ‘The Symetrix DSP system is probably the best network audio system processor we have worked with so far. It’s a strong and efficient DSP that’s surprisingly easy to work with. The Dante digital audio network and the ARC controls work perfectly for our resort. We have created multiple zones throughout the space, and having smartphone control of volume, source, and zone selection makes this installation very efficient and easy to work with.
‘The DesignLive team did a fantastic job recommending, installing, and explaining the unlimited options and possibilities. It’s definitely an industry standard that I will recommend for any future project.’
