RCF in Wonderland

RCF takes a cosmic ride into Wonderland
No Saints launches new club brand in South London. No Saints, the leisure group set up by former Luminar Leisure boss Stephen Thomas, has added the Wonder brand to its growing portfolio, after acquiring four new sites in the south-east.
Known respectively as Wonder Lounge, Wonder Land and Wonder Years, the first fully-fledged nightclub (Wonder Land) opened recently in Sutton, Surrey.
Back in charge of the 900-capacity venue he once operated as Liquid, Thomas brought in Dakota House of Design (to work the Alice in Wonderland theme into an escapist nightclub interior), while Mark Damon of Cosmic Electronics renewed his company’s long relationship with RCF to provide an end-to-end sound reinforcement solution.
“We have a long and successful track record working with RCF,” he said, “and so we were 110% behind the idea of working with them on this project because we know their products are of high quality and reliable.”
Mark Damon provided RCF UK with a demanding specification, which was to provide optimum coverage of two Wonder Lounge bars, at balcony level, and the large bowl underneath (known as ‘The Bizarre’).
The sound also needed to be hybrid, and sufficiently versatile to produce not only a high impact on the dance floor but also have the ability to operate in live mode, with good speech and vocal clarity for acts ranging from burlesque and comedy, performing on the curtained stage.
The manufacturers responded by recommending the components best fit for purpose, with EQ curves relevant to each eventuality stored in the three dedicated DX4008 4-in/8-out loudspeaker management processors.
Mark Damon’s installation team was also confronted with the challenge of retrofitting the system into a surreal interior that that had already been fabricated by Dakota interior designer, Terri Naylor, who had followed a brief to dwell on the darker side of Alice in Wonderland, with large mushrooms, twisted clocks and top hats.
Impressively free of any visible wiring, one of Cosmic’s more remarkable feats has been to recess four S8028 twin 18” RCF Acustica bass reflex subwoofers into pre-existing floor furnishing, creating a cardioid array behind six mesh grilles.
Above, at balcony level, four of RCF’s corner clusters of paired RCF Acustica C5212L 2-way, 60° x 40° narrow dispersion 500W enclosures, are angled down onto the dance floor, while, strategically placed around the periphery of the venue, are 14 Acustica C3110 10” 2-way speakers and an S8015 sub provide infill sound, ensuring even coverage without hotspotting.
Eight RCF DPS 3000 Class HD amplifiers (2 x 1700W RMS / 2 ohms) have been assigned, four each to the mid-high clusters and the S8028 subs, while five RCF HPS 2500 Class H power amps (2 x 1400W RMS / 2 ohms) drive the C3110 infill speakers, with one channel powering the venue’s pre-existing ceiling speakers.
Finally, a pair of active RCF NX M10-A active mid high monitors and an ART 905-AS active sub, providing the DJ with high-class reference sound, tops off the highly specified DJ booth.
“Considering the budget spent on technology the sound is absolutely superb,” reasons Wonderland’s general manager, Jay Davidson. “It is far superior to systems I have experienced at other clubs I have worked in.” He also commended the overall standard and neatness of Cosmic Electronics’ installation.
“This integrated technology is capable of delivering a unique sound and lighting experience to what is now a new generation of clubbers, who have never been exposed to this kind of dynamic.”
And Stephen Thomas added, “No Saints is on a journey, and having talented people who understand the nightclub market makes that journey more interesting and fun. Wonderland is about pure escapism — and the versatility of the sound system has enabled us to achieve all we would have hoped for and more.”