With 43 years of continuous activity and a star-studded roster of performers including Daft Punk, Ben Harper and Dream Theater, Florence’s Tenax required a system able to maintain would live up to the club’s reputation while respecting the constrains of its urban location.
The K-array team liaised with the club’s technicians on an updated system: ‘Our headquarters are just outside of Florence city, so we have strong connections with the nightclub and with the underground music culture that has evolved from Tenax over the decades,’ says K-array Global Business Development Manager, Daniel Strasserra. ‘While a key goal was to gain control over the audio and alleviate neighbourhood concerns, we were also tasked with designing a system that would do justice to the performances of the best DJs in the business.’
Located on the ground floor, the main room at Tenax required a system that would deliver clarity and power. Through collaboration with the in-house team, K-array recommended a large-scale system including 16 Mugello-KH3 tops and 20 Thunder-KS4 subs, powered by three Kommander-KA208 amplifiers.
To address noise issues, 16 of the Thunder-KS4 subs have been positioned in front of the sound booth to concentrate low frequencies in the centre of the dancefloor, leaving the side walls and adjoining buildings with minimal impact. Additionally, the Mugello-KH3 tops are arranged in four clusters of four, ensuring an immersive experience on the dancefloor.
The DJ booth monitoring features four Thunder-KMT21 subs and six Dragon-KX12 tops configured as LCR. Initially requested by Techno legend Jeff Mills, this has since become the standard for monitoring systems in the main room, earning compliments from renowned DJs such as Steve Aoki, Black Coffee and Damian Lazarus.
‘The results have garnered high praise from both the Tenax owners and by the many international artists who perform in the booth,’ says Strasserra. ‘Importantly, the main room upgrade has been much appreciated by the neighbours, who no longer need to suffer from noise pollution on club nights.’
On the first floor, dubbed The Tube, the system uses two Thunder-KMT218 subs, four Dragon-KX12 tops and two Python-KP52s for delay coverage. Despite its small size, The Tube has won a reputation as the ‘sweet spot’ of the club thanks to the sound.
Like most modern nightclubs, Tenax offers several VIP areas for private parties. These have also been equipped with K-array and KGear audio systems – VIP tables on the ground floor have with three GH12 loudspeakers from KGear, refreshing the mid/hi audio from the system in the main room, while Golden Tables on the first floor use Kobra-KK50 tops and 3 KN10S subs.
‘The new K-array system perfectly meets the needs of the Tenax club,’ reports resident DJ Alex Neri. ‘The definition of the high frequencies is nothing short of perfect and the new subs are amazing. For me, it’s one of the best systems I’ve ever worked with in my 30-year career.’
‘It’s been a pleasure to work with a legendary nightclub and help deliver an incredible clubbing experience,’ Strasserra says. ‘We’re thrilled by the positive feedback received from the Tenax team and top DJs. The Tenax project is a testament to the ability of our products to not only provide quality audio but to also solve problems.’
More: www.k-array.com
