WÄRTSILÄ ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEMS REDEFINES NIGHTLIFE AT SEA WITH WORLD’S FIRST WPS INSTALL

“We started audio specification for the ship back in 2016 but thanks to the strength of relationship with Martin Audio we were able to glimpse into the future product roadmap and asa consequence believed that the product that would become WPS was a perfect fit for the nightclub,” explained Rob Shuard, Vice President, Design & Engineering of Wärtsilä Entertainment Systems. “We felt WPS would offer the perfect marriage of high performance,control, consistency and coverage in an ultra-compact format, befitting of the Virgin Voyages vision.”

‘The Manor’nightclub is named after Virgin’s first music studio in England. The space wasdesigned utilizing two ship decks of height to maximize how the room feels and mimic the structure of land-based clubs. Wärtsilä Entertainment Systems has equipped TheManor with a state-of-the-art acoustic design as well as industry-leading equipment to support DJ sets, and Martin Audio’s WPS will take pride of place.

The set up in the nightclub consists of four WPS left and right of the stage, flown over two SX218 subwoofers. Supplementing this are a further four arrays, each of three WPS, flownover the dancefloor. The system is all powered by four iKON iK42 amplifiers supporting a 2 box resolution for enhanced coverage, consistency and control.

Virgin Voyages is a new venture from the Virgin brand, which aims to redefine the experience of sea travel. While on ship, Virgin Voyages Sailors will have the opportunity to choosefrom a festival-like line-up of all-new completely original entertainment developed by some of the world’s most-talked about producers, directors and artists as a part of the company’s Creative Collective.

“Virgin Voyages will redefine entertainment at sea and to help deliver on this mission it’s essential that we have the latest technology and superior audio to enrich our sailors’ experienceonboard,” stated Daren Hirst, Director, Entertainment Technical of Virgin Voyages. “We’re delighted to have Martin Audio’s latest Wavefront Precision line array in The Manor, knowing that its low distortion, richness of tone and clarity will provide endlesshours of pumping tunes for our Sailors.”

WPS is designed to set a new benchmark for 8” line arrays and is the fourth model in the award winning and best-selling Wavefront Precision optimised line array series. It is a passive3-way system which integrates a high density of drive units in a very compact enclosure. It features two 8” LF drivers, four 4” midrange drivers and four 1” exit HF compression drivers loaded by a moulded HF horn which occupies the full width of the enclosure— defining the 100° horizontal constant directivity coverage pattern of both the HF and midrange sections.

The 4” midrange drivers are compression-loaded to raise efficiency and enter the horn walls via annular slots close to the HF throat to sum effectively with the HF wavefront. In theHF section, four 1” exit compression drivers deliver pristine high frequency sound without the harshness and distortion associated with larger format devices.

The 8” LF drivers are set back behind the walls of the HF horn, with a small volume of air in front of each driver increasing the output at the upper end of its operating range. TheLF exit apertures are spaced apart horizontally to provide useful LF horizontal pattern control.

Summing up, Dom Harter, Managing Director of Martin Audio concluded: “As one of pro audio’s founding brands, we are delighted to be part of this prestigious and exciting project fromVirgin Voyages and grateful for Wärtsilä Entertainment Systems’ faith in us so far ahead of the announcement of WPS. Wavefront Precision line arrays have been the fastest selling in the company’s 48-year history and I’m sure WPS will add to that success andfor Virgin Voyages it will help unite their Sailors in spell binding entertainment.”