The Opportunity
New Zealand’s most exclusive retreat Helena Bay Lodge is an 800-acre luxury resort situated in the stunning Bay of Islands. With a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces including four private beaches, a gym, massage room, swimming pool, library, lounge areas, and multiple dining areas, the facility needed a centrally controlled AV system that could comprehensively cover the residences and common areas of the resort.
To address this, JPRO worked in conjunction with Liquid Automation and ABL Group to design a cutting-edge HARMAN AV solution featuring Crown amplifiers and BSS processing. The new HARMAN solution offers complete control of the resort’s audio, lighting and video distribution systems, and integrates seamlessly with the existing building management system.
The Solution
A BSS Soundweb London BLU-800 networked signal processor and Crown DriveCore Install Series amplifiers provide networked control of 46 audio zones spread out over the property, with 126 channels of audio inputs. The system distributes audio over the network to multiple locations, and then via BLU-link to the Crown DCi-N multi-channel network amplifiers. The audio distribution system is monitored remotely, which was a requirement due to the isolated location of the lodge.
“To handle this many channels we had to turn to a high-end professional audio solution and BSS Soundweb was the obvious and only choice at the time for sound quality, reliability and flexibility”
The Impact
Darian from Liquid Automation comments “All the sources and outputs were run in stereo which created a complex audio matrix. To handle this many channels we had to turn to a high-end professional audio solution and BSS Soundweb was the obvious and only choice as it is known for sound quality, reliability and flexibility.”
Liquid Automation and ABL Group also won the “Best Special Project” and “Best Design and Documentation” awards at both CEDIA Asia/Pacific and CEDIA Americas for this state-of-the-art installation.
About Helena Bay Lodge, New Zealand
Expectations are high here when you consider the $5m per guest investment: this unique $50M property has just five suites, accommodating no more than ten guests. And while financial investment doesn’t guarantee luxury and service, we are pleased to report that it does here. Every conceivable luxury is to hand. The architecture and décor is intentionally on the bland side, so as not to distract from the beautiful surrounding landscape. This is destined to become one of the world’s best hotels.
