Miami, Fla. – For those seeking a fine dining experience coupled with some late night music and dancing, the upscale “Dolores but you can call me Lolita” restaurant and lounge is one of Miami’s top destinations. Offering spectacular south Florida sunsets on the restaurant’s open terrace and featuring an eclectic fusion of Brazilian, Persian, Spanish, Asian and Mediterranean cuisines, guests enjoy a broad choice of menu options and frequently extend their visits into the wee hours of the morning in the adjacent lounge. The facility recently upgraded its sound reinforcement capabilities, and patrons are now treated to a first-class audio experience courtesy of loudspeaker systems from D.A.S. Audio.
“Dolores but you can call me Lolita” is a two level establishment—with Dolores being the upper level restaurant portion of the facility and Lolita serving as the ground level/main entrance lounge area. According to Joaquin Chamizo, managing partner of the restaurant and lounge, “Our lounge area serves double duty. It not only functions as the waiting area for guests prior to being seated upstairs for dinner, it has also become a popular gathering spot for the late night crowd looking to socialize. As our business evolved, we became increasingly aware of the shortcomings of our sound system, so before it became a hindrance, we opted to upgrade our sound reinforcement capabilities.”
Lolita (the lounge) was recently upgraded with four white D.A.S. Audio Variant 112A Installation Array loudspeakers. Placed in the four corners of the room, the Variant 112A is a self-powered, 2-way full range loudspeaker system featuring a 12-inch woofer coupled with dual neodymium compression drivers with 2-inch titanium diaphragms. The biamplified system employs a 500 watt Class D amplifier for the low frequency section and a 100 watt power section for the high frequencies. The four individual enclosures each utilize their internal DSP.
Low frequency support is provided by a pair of strategically placed D.A.S. Audio CA-215AW subwoofers. The CA-215AW is a self-powered sub bass system featuring dual 15-inch low frequency transducers mounted as a direct radiator into a bass-reflex cabinet. Power is provided by a 1000 watt Class D switching amplifier. Loudspeaker management for the entire system is handled by a D.A.S. Audio DSP-26. The DSP-26 is capable of providing crossover, equalizer, limiter, and delay functions. In this environment, it is used to process low frequency signals from the DJ mixer prior to reaching the loudspeakers.
“On weekends,” notes Chamizo, “Lenym Parabavizk—our DJ—works the room, and he’s a big fan of D.A.S. products. His input was very influential in helping us identify the products that would be best for this particular application. With the new loudspeakers in place, the quality of the sound is dramatically better and since pedestrians can hear and, for that matter, feel the music as they walk by, it definitely helps attract business. With the new system, up tempo music is livelier than ever and it really helps create a festive atmosphere.”
Throughout the upstairs dining area, another sonic challenge prevailed prior to the facility upgrade. “Unlike the lounge,” explained Chamizo, “we use background music to provide a relaxing ambience as our customers eat dinner. With the old system, all the loudspeakers were positioned along one wall. This created a situation where the distribution of the sound was very uneven. On one side of the terrace, patrons could not hear the music, but at the tables along the wall, we frequently received complaints that the music was too loud.”
To address this challenge, 16 white D.A.S. Audio Arco 24 surface mount loudspeakers are mounted throughout the dining area—blending seamlessly into the room’s décor. Specifically designed for small to medium spaces, the Arco 24 features an injection molded enclosure incorporating dual 4-inch woofers with weather resistant polypropylene cones mated to a 25 mm neodymium dome tweeter for brilliant highs and balanced performance.
“We finally have balanced, high quality sound throughout the dining area,” notes Chamizo. “With even sound dispersion, everyone can hear the music and we no longer receive complains from those seated along the wall. These speakers made a tremendous difference for us.”
With a mellow, relaxing sonic ambience upstairs and a more festive mood in the lounge that helps Chamizo retain his customers, the new D.A.S. Audio loudspeaker systems have made a positive impact on the restaurant’s business. “D.A.S. did a terrific job for us,” said Chamizo. “Company representatives came to our facility, evaluated the rooms, took acoustic measurements, and made a number of suggestions. They were extremely thorough and this experience gave me a high level of confidence to proceed with the installation of their loudspeakers. I’m extremely pleased with the end result. The sound quality throughout the entire facility is dramatically better than what I envisioned. It’s been a very positive experience.”
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