Known for its a diverse and cosmopolitan population, with über-trendy night spots and ‘eat-and-be-seen’ restaurants opening seemingly every week, Washington, DC, has welcomed Shōtō as its latest attraction.
Shōtō joins UK restauranteur Arjun Waney’s collective of brands, including Zuma, a high-end Japanese fusion concept with 18 locations worldwide. Located in DC’s new Midtown Center, once the home of the venerable Washington Post, Shōtō’s interior was created by world-renowned designer Noriyoshi Murmatsu of Studio Glit.
The ambience is a contemporary take on traditional Japanese casual, with tight, punchy audio provided by a compact yet powerful DAS Audio sound system.
Audio in the main dining area is handled by 27 DAS Audio Quantum Series Q-23-T two-way full-range systems. The Q-23-T’s compact look and short-throw design is exactly what the room called for, explains Managing Partner, Arman Naqi…
‘We wanted a system that would deliver full sound, very musical sound, but not overpower people’s conversations. And we wanted it to look great, yet blend in seamlessly with the rest of the room’s décor.’
Twenty Deco-6-TB two-way in-ceiling speakers have been installed throughout to round out coverage, with eight Q-10 ultracompact 10-inch subwoofers discreetly placed around the room. The system was designed and commissioned by John Fiorito, DAS Audio’s Hospitality and Nightclub National Sales Manager, and installed by 305AV with support from the DAS Audio applications engineering team.
‘As always when we received this design request via our website, we sat down with the integrator to determine the best solution for the venue,’ says Geovanni Ortiz, the lead applications engineer on the project. ‘The Quantum series was an ideal choice, providing uniform coverage and consistent speech intelligibility across the room’s unique dimensions.’
‘Shōtō represents a high-end, global brand, and we chose DAS Audio because it’s also a high-end, high-quality brand,’ Naqi says. ‘In Europe, they are a highly respected market leader with a reputation for quality. DAS Audio was a natural fit.’
‘We have live DJs three nights a week, and our goal right from the start was to be the best sounding restaurant in DC,’ he adds. ‘We have truly accomplished that. There’s no bad seat in the restaurant. No matter where you’re sitting you get great sound and a great experience.’
More: www.dasaudio.com
