Powersoft D-Cell504 IS high-power amplifier modules were chosen to drive a one-of-a-kind ‘Wall of Bass’ in a new Austrian nightclub recently.

The owners of Club SUB in Wiener Neustadt wanted to equip their venue with a low frequency solution that could reproduce a wide variety of live and DJ-derived music and arts presentations, as well as workshops and theatrical performances in a way that had never been done before.

But as the 300-capacity club is situated in a densely populated residential area, acoustic isolation was an unavoidable requirement, which is where professional acoustics specialist Lambda Labs came in.

“The owners’ goal was to achieve a similar sound performance as it had in the Grelle Forelle Club in Vienna," said Lambda Labs director Steffen Kroschel. "Given the concerns of local residents, when Mr. Sauter [the owner] surveyed the building, with its tube like architecture, the abstract idea of a ‘vibrating wall’ became more logical.”

Sauter then got in touch with Lambda Labs, where Richard Nell began supporting the concept with simulation data, parameters and measurements – applying his knowledge of high performance concrete ‘closed box’ enclosures and amping.

The drivers were created especially for this project, going through ten prototype stages, while the club’s owners assisted with casting the concrete loudspeaker enclosures.

For the rear wall behind the 6 x 5 metre stage, 400 kg concrete blocks were cast and set into a 6 x 3 metre wall, utilising 13 tons of heavy concrete and another 35 tons for the foundation.

Each concrete block acts as a loudspeaker enclosure with pressure-resistant rear chamber, which implements the impulse response of a ‘closed-box’ design, and maximises the radiation resistance of the woofers through the acoustically hard surface.

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