Elegant Audio

Pro AVL MEA goes behind the scenes at the new Nammos restaurant in Dubai

Nammos Village on the Greek party island of Mykonos is known for its reputation among the rich and famous, and has welcomed a number of celebrities through its doors in recent years. So, when it announced that the Nammos concept would be heading to a beachfront location in Dubai, expectations were naturally high. It’s a little piece of the Greek island blended with Dubai’s unique vibe.

Housed inside the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach, the venue is divided into several concept areas and will be open to guests all year round. The luxurious new space comprises a Mediterranean restaurant, Beach Bar, the Nammos Beachfront with its signature blue and white umbrellas, and an extravagant, one-of-a-kind bubbly room for champagne aficionados.

The central ‘pod’ where volume levels increase as the night goes on

Like its bigger brother in Mykonos, guests can expect to dine in the restaurant on a Greek-inspired menu or sip on an array of classic and signature cocktails created by master mixologists at the Beach Bar. This multifunctional space required audio reinforcement capable of ticking several boxes at the same time, and the owner turned to UAE-based integrator Levels for assistance with the design, supply and integration works.

Like many restaurants in Dubai, energy levels tend to increase as guests while away the hours, so a system capable of staying out of sight during restaurant hours, but in your face at night, was key. ‘Nammos approached Levels because they were looking for a proven entertainment-focused AV integrator to help with everything – the design, supply and install of the entire sound system,’ recalls Levels managing partner, Hassan Alwan.

‘The brief was for a top-tier sound system in terms of acoustic performance, and one that gave the owners the flexibility to run both lounge-level events for their brunches and lunch, and, at the same time, have the capability to turn up the system during the evening programming to create a more lively atmosphere for bands and DJs. We worked quite early on with the architects of the building and interior decorators to ensure our design would work well aesthetically.’

More than just the system’s audio credentials, the brand- and image-conscious venue was keen to find a solution that would also be recognisable by its clientele. ‘I was already quite familiar with Pioneer’s DJ systems, so it was great to pair that with the speakers and see that whole element coming together as one piece,’ commented Nammos Dubai general manager, Nick Comaty. ‘I think it’s a great brand, internationally recognised, and works very well with all the different elements we have here and the different brands that we are aligning with in order to create an amazing experience.’

The new system powering Nammos consists almost exclusively of models from the manufacturer’s XY Series. ‘The reason we chose Pioneer for this installation was because the product is very well priced and it sounds exceptionally good – it’s an acoustically flat box so it requires very little manipulation to get it going before you start EQing it into a space,’ explains Daniel Ball, Levels’ managing partner.

‘So, it’s a natural solution for a project like this, where we had lots of functionality to deliver to the client, power that needed to be on-demand and, if anything, a nice, elegant-looking solution to integrate into the aesthetics as well.’

In total, 56 12-inch Pioneer XY-122-W cabinets have been distributed around the restaurant and outdoor terrace, as well as a further four 10-inch XY-101-Ws and four 15-inch XY-152-Ws. Low-end support comes from nine Pioneer XY-118 single 18-inch bass-reflex subwoofers.

Single 18-inch Pioneer XY-118s strategically placed to provide low end

‘We selected just a handful of products from the Pioneer range,’ adds Ball. ‘The reason behind that was effectively to keep the simple philosophy of using the same speaker almost everywhere. That being said, we have 10-, 12- and 15-inch tops, all complemented by 18-inch single bass-reflex subwoofers.’

Interestingly, the Levels team decided to dedicate every speaker its own amplifier channel, leading to the deployment of 30 Powersoft Quattrocanali 4804DNT four-channel amplifiers into two nearby rack rooms.

As well as being Pioneer’s preferred amp solution, its Armonía software paid dividends during the integration. ‘Armonía is something that we find sets apart Powersoft products from the other competition in the market,’ comments Ball. ‘It’s a very intuitive, simple, powerful and very stable software. The DSP engines that are inside the amplifiers are very easily manipulated from the software and it gives engineers like myself plenty of flexibility and power to implement the right EQ, time alignment and other settings.’

Additionally, a Pioneer XPRS system has been deployed by Levels as a portable solution for performances, to be used either as a near-field DJ monitoring system for the DJ booth or to be set up as stage floor monitors in any one of the locations around the venue designed for live musicians.

Smaller 10-inch XY-101-Ws complement the main cabinets

The result is a slimmed-down version of the Greek Nammos Village that retains all the original elements that helped build its name. The powerful but discreet audio system stays out of sight during dining hours but still commands attention as the levels increase.

‘What makes the Nammos installation special is the fact that we were allowed to design this system using best practices and best-known audio philosophies. We were able to utilise stateof-the-art technologies like fully redundant Dante networking for the audio distribution,’ recalls Ball. ‘We were allowed to use a single amplifier channel for every speaker, giving us the utmost ability to control the system for optimisation but also remodel it based on the fact that they’ve got numerous areas in which they could set up a live performance or put a DJ in.’

With Pioneer looking to carve out a bigger niche for its pro audio solutions in the bars and restaurants in the region, a top-tier install such as Nammos is important, and, as such, the manufacturer worked closely with Levels throughout the design and installation process to ensure there were no hitches. ‘It’s really important for us as Pioneer Pro Audio to work very closely with both our installers and end users,’ affirms Pioneer’s Jamie Gomez. ‘We’ve been working with Levels for many years now, virtually since Pioneer was born.

The flexibility of the range suits this application really well and adding Nammos to our list of references is great for the brand.’