The Expirat music venue brand was established in 2002, making it the oldest and most popular open-format music club/live music venue currently operating in Bucharest. Owned by Andrei Șoșa and wife Raluca, the first location opened in Vama Veche (on the beach) with a second venue opening in the Romanian capital the following year – which relocated from its city centre basement home to its current venue, a medium-size warehouse within the Halele Carol complex in 2016.
This is an industrial architectural jewel similar in aspect and logistics to the Melkweg Oude Zaal in Amsterdam, located at the edge of one of Bucharest’s historic landmarks: Carol I Park.
Since its relocation, Expirat has become a flagship venue for both the local live music scene and the go-to dance club for Bucharest’s clubbers who revel to the sounds delivered by a Martin Audio W8LM Mini Line Array in its main Sala Compresoarelor.
Outside on the terrace, DJ sets, acoustic live acts and various community-based happenings take place during the summer months. And it is on the terrace that Paradigma Teknik, Martin Audio’s longstanding Romanian partner, has installed the company’s new Adorn loudspeaker series, having supplied and installed the original W8LM rig when the venue moved to its current location nearly four years ago.
With a capacity for around 200 people, the terrace had been making do with a largely improvised system. But due to their satisfaction with the W8LM, and their relationship with Paradigma Teknik, the owners sought an advanced solution but within a tight budget, mindful of the impact Covid-19 has had on the leisure and hospitality industry.
Paradigma Project Manager, Daniel Albu, and systems engineer, Alexandru Serb, recommended Martin Audio’s new cost-effective Adorn series, and specifically the A55 – a great all-rounder, finding particular application in bars and restaurants.
They specified 12 enclosures, which are all wall mounted along with six SX110 (10-inch) slimline subs for the low end. The matched system is under the management of a dedicated DX0.5 controller and powered by a Martin Audio VIA2004 4-channel amplifier (for A55s) and an existing MA3.0.
According to Albu and Serb: ‘We proposed Adorn as it was the perfect compromise between budget and performance, and being discreet it was also a good fit.’
Tight pattern control ensures minimum spillage into the busy neighbourhood, while ensuring good coverage and SPL on the terrace itself.
As in many cities across the globe, Bucharest is only waking slowly from the Covid-19 pandemic. For those with outdoor terraces there is a glimmer of hope, and Paradigma are increasingly promoting high value products like Adorn (and where the budget does extend, to Martin Audio’s CDD-WR weatherised speakers).
Meanwhile Andrei and Raluca Șoșa are happy with the new installation: ‘It’s really a huge upgrade for us in terms of coverage and power, while managing to keep the sound enclosed within the venue’s confines in respect of our neighbours.
‘The whole outdoor area seems alive now in terms of sound, which suits all the venue’s purposes, whether auditions, DJ sets or intimate acoustic performances. This installation consolidated our long-lasting belief that Martin Audio is the best option in terms of sound for our venue.’
And they have backed that up, now commissioning Paradigma to provide a similar solution on the terrace of their Vama Veche venue, which will feature 16 A55 enclosures,
