Zhang Lili admits that she hadn’t previously heard of Genelec, but that she and members of the team at the LiLi Time – a café located on the busy Mengzi Road in Shanghai – shared a common love for music. Cultivating a community in which those who are deaf or hard of hearing can feel comfortable, life at the café has since been enhanced with the installation of a Genelec G Series loudspeaker system. ‘The deaf customers and staff tell me that they can feel the vibration of sound,’ Zhang Lili explains.
Drawing a parallel between good coffee and music, she continues: ‘Both are linked to our physical perception, albeit different senses, and both contribute in equal parts to creating a warm space, where people can be comfortable and communicate freely.’ An additional benefit of using high-quality loudspeakers in this type of environment is in preventing the ‘recruitment’ syndrome that hard of hearing people sometimes experience, which manifests itself as a reduced tolerance to loud sounds. This means that the range of acceptable loudness to the listener can be quite narrow, so a distributed loudspeaker system with good performance is key to achieving the best results.
After comprehensive discussions with Genelec’s Beijing team, it became apparent that the solution had to deliver on three fronts: the distribution of high fidelity BGM (background music), the accommodation of live musical performances, and the to be easy for visiting musicians to plug into and operate. To this end, a combination of Genelec G One and G Three two-way active loudspeakers were specified.
Each model was selected to suit the acoustics and functional requirements of each room. For the more expansive first floor, G Threes were chosen for broad sound coverage, while the ultra-compact G Ones were selected for the more intimate environment of the café’s upper level. The provision of simple rear panel room compensation switches on both models also meant that the response of each loudspeaker could be tailored to each room’s individual acoustics.
With the addition of a digital mixer, staff now have complete control over the café’s audio levels via the familiar interface of a smartphone or iPad. The active design of the G Series loudspeakers removes the need for external amplifiers, offering a compact and flexible plug-and-play system for visiting singers and bands.
Si Xuan, café designer and frequent performer, is thrilled with the upgrade: ‘Our live music capabilities have been significantly improved. Not only do we have total, wireless control of BGM, but we can easily plug in guitars, keyboards, and other instruments, and have the capability to fine-tune the sound remotely in real time.’
It is evident from the care that Zhang Lili and Si Xuan have put into the café’s interior design that aesthetics were also a consideration. ‘Since the install, we’ve received lots of positive feedback from customers, who often take pictures of the loudspeakers,’ Zhang Lili reports. ‘They are drawn to Genelec’s distinctive design as well as their sound – the sustainability of their recycled aluminium cabinets is the cherry on the cake.’
One of the café’s baristas, nicknamed Xiaoyu, was offered an interview at LiLi Time after struggling to find work in Shanghai: ‘I’ll always remember that day,’ he recalls. ‘I was very nervous during the interview because I didn’t know how to express myself, since I hadn’t studied coffee and didn’t have any experience in serving. But everyone looked at me with a smile on their face and gave me great encouragement.
‘Over time I’ve witnessed the number of customers in the café increasing, and more and more customers are happy to let me talk to them in sign language. All of this makes me feel so happy.’
LiLi Time provides a space where everyone is encouraged to interact with one another and express their artistic talents. It serves as a place of refuge where guests can feel at ease, and enjoy quality coffee, music and company.
More: www.genelec.com
