Jiak Kim House - Blending the past and the present at Singapore restaurant
Jiak Kim House is a new restaurant in Singapore, which combines the historic atmosphere of its original purpose with more recent use as a popular nightclub. With sound and visual quality equally important, a Yamaha background music system seamlessly blends the past and the present.
The building which now houses Jiak Kim House restaurant was built as a conservation warehouse in the 1920s. In the 1990s it was a well-known hotspot, drawing crowds seeking vibrant nightlife. Popular DJs of the time played high energy sets, infusing the space with an energetic atmosphere that became synonymous with the venue.
In January 2024 it opened its doors as a brand new restaurant, with a unique blend of historical charm and contemporary culinary excellence. Systems integrator PAVE System Pte. Ltd was commissioned to design and supply a high quality audio system.
The restaurant needed a background music system to cover the front and rear dining areas with high quality sound, but which would not be affected by the building’s high ceilings. Just as important was that it had to comply with Singapore’s strict guidelines on the renovation of heritage buildings, which are designed to ensure that they retain their original ambience and feel. With steel ceiling structures which are more than a century old, this meant that ceiling speakers could not be used.
It also presented a significant aesthetic challenge, with the venue’s architect wanting the audio system to be discreet, with no visual impact on the décor.
Another challenge was that system is controlled by the bar staff, located at the entrance of the restaurant and in a central ‘island’. The difficulty in concealing wiring meant using a conventional surface mount controller was not an option.
Finally, the restaurant wanted to use previously-installed speakers in the hallway, so needed amplifiers with enough power and channels to drive both the new and existing speakers.
The Solution
Yamaha VXL1-24 and VXL1-16 slim line array speakers were chosen for the front and rear dining areas respectively. The unobtrusive, paintable design ensured that not only could they be coloured to blend into the décor, they would deliver highly directional, uniform sound throughout each space. These were complemented by VXS10S surface mount subwoofers, which gently boosted the bass levels to deliver perfectly-balanced sound.
The Solution
PX5 and PX3 power amplifiers were installed to drive the VXL series speakers, with an XMV8140 multi-channel power amplifier driving the VXS10S subwoofers and the existing speakers in the hallway. An MTX3 matrix processor was specified to manage the system, which is controlled wirelessly from a tablet in the bar area running the ProVisionaire Touch app. This ensured there were no issues with installing a wired unit.
"We are impressed with the consistent and expansive coverage delivered by the VXL series speakers. Thy eliminated the need for the extra cabling which is typically required when using conventional point source speakers, enhancing the efficiency of the system design and contributing to the most cost-effective solution," says Mr. Wang Heng Thean, Director of Sales at PAVE System PTE. Ltd.
“We use the MTX3 in most of our audio systems, as it is a proven, reliable and very easy to set up processor. As well as doing a great job in routing audio to specified zones in the restaurant, creating preset buttons on the ProVisionaire Touch app made the system simple to use, so customer training was straightforward.”
Mr. Tan Wee Tuck, owner of Jiak Kim House restaurant, “The unobtrusive profile of the VXL series speakers made them the perfect design. On top of that, all the other great features that came along with the system were a real bonus for us.
“Working in an environment with products meticulously designed by exceptional minds is a valuable perk for our staff.”
Location
Singapore
