It is a wonderful system. The sound quality is very high throughout, and we are pleased that there is no echo in the very high lobby atrium.”
Sherif SabryDirector of Sales and Marketing, The Torch Doha
Soaring 300 meters over Qatar’s capital of Doha, The Torch Doha—one of the Middle East’s newest five-star hotels—captivates guests with luxury and a flair for aesthetic refinement. Throughout the hotel’s public spaces, the elegant décor is complemented by music that flows through an extensive (yet discreet) installation of 195 Meyer Sound low-voltage self-powered loudspeakers and 55 miniature subwoofers.
“Meyer Sound’s low-voltage systems were the only solution that could meet the stringent requirements for full spectrum audio including extremely compact enclosures, wide frequency response with ultra-low distortion, high SPL-to-size ratio, superior speech intelligibility, custom color finishes, and flexible mounting options,” says system designer and project manager, Pradeep Kumar of Doha-based AVtech, the integrator for all the hotel’s music systems.
A particularly challenging space for controlled, quality sound was a 20-meter high lobby atrium, for which Kumar specified 10 MM‑4XPD directional self-powered loudspeakers. Other lobby and reception areas are served by MM‑4XP self-powered loudspeakers and MM‑10 miniature subwoofers.
Ceiling systems throughout the hotel’s Three Sixty revolving restaurant, meeting rooms, health clubs, and business center employ a total of 109 low-voltage Stella-4C loudspeakers, while a quartet of robust UPJunior VariO loudspeakers take care of the lofty cantilevered pool area and the Sky bar. A total of 31 sleek, surface-mount Stella-4 loudspeakers blend with the décor in the sushi restaurant, lounges, and bars, with additional MM-10 subwoofers filling in the lower octaves. A Galileo loudspeaker management system with a Galileo 616 processor optimizes audio response in the acoustically challenging lobby zone.
The low-voltage loudspeakers receive both audio signal and remote DC powering from rack-mount power supplies, featuring two MPS-481 and seven MPS-488HP 48V DC units, as well as 12 Stella-188 18V DC units deployed around the installation.
“The hotel management is extremely happy with the quality of the Meyer Sound system,” Kumar reports. “It was more than they expected. Every detail of the music is crystal clear, even at low levels that allow guests to comfortably engage in conversation.”
“It is a wonderful system,” adds Sherif Sabry, The Torch Doha’s director of sales and marketing. “The sound quality is very high throughout, and we are pleased that there is no echo in the very high lobby atrium.”
In addition to Meyer Sound products, the venue also features an Allen & Heath iDR-8 that handles mixing and matrixing of local audio sources in the meeting rooms, while AV switching is assigned to an Extron SMX System MultiMatrix.
The 167 luxurious rooms of The Torch Doha occupy 17 floors of the Aspire Tower, an iconic symbol built for the 2006 Asian Games held in the surrounding Aspire Zone sports complex. Architect Hadi Simaan, in association with AREP and Ove Arup & Partners engineers, designed the Aspire Tower building. The Torch Doha hotel project—with architecture design by Karim Azzabi and interior design by Artline R+M & Associates of Doha—was completed in 2011.