K-array has amplified the elegance of the luxury Italian hotel Portrait Milano by delivering a significant upgrade to its audio infrastructure.
Portrait Milano, one of Milan's premier luxury hotels and a member of the Lugarno Collection, provides guests with quintessential Italian hospitality in the heart of the city. Located in a former Archiepiscopal Seminary dating back to 1565, Portrait Milano is the third hotel in the Portrait Collection.
Portrait Milano commissioned its compatriot Italian business, K-array, to process a large-scale integration on-site.
Alberto Gaetti, Project Support Specialist at K-array, said:
At Portrait Milano, they required a solution that would blend seamlessly with the stylish interiors but provide moderately high SPL. We worked closely with systems integrators, A3 System and Next Domus, to design and implement a system that would complement the guest experience at this luxury hotel."
The project encompassed three unique zones within the hotel, including a subdivisible meeting space and integrated audio in the hotel spa. The largest area to consider was the 10_11 Bar, Giardino, Ristorante. This long space, divided into three sections for dining, drinks, and socialising, featured 14 units of K-array’s Vyper ultra-flat aluminium line array loudspeakers in a white finish, positioned individually on poles fixed to the walls to ensure consistent coverage.
More Specifics On The Installation Itself
Each Vyper unit, equipped with Pure Array Technology, intends to ensure uniform and coherent audio coverage throughout the venue. Nine Rumble subwoofers, either recessed in the walls or hidden under built-in seating, provide low-end reinforcement. The system is powered and controlled by eight-channel Kommander amplifiers.
Gaetti underlined that the primary challenge was designing the setup for moderately high SPL (sound pressure level) without marking the walls. "The subwoofers have been hidden under the seats, but the Vypers, designed for on-wall or in-wall installation, have been mounted on sleek poles off-the-wall because of the acoustic finish of the wall surface," he explained.
The Porticato is the aforementioned long, narrow outdoor space with original stone columns. K-array maintains the Vyper and Rumble combination, with eight and four of each installed in loudspeaker/subwoofer pairs on the interior wall. Vyper units are interspersed.
14 Tornado point-source loudspeakers enhanced the open-air dining space and its separate garden area, ensuring maximum audio coverage with a wide dispersion. Four Rumble subwoofers were also installed and fixed to the ceiling beams. In the garden, an immersive soundscape was created by a system composed of four Kobra, metre-long stainless steel line array elements featuring Pure Array Technology, and an additional three Rumble subwoofers.
