Martin Audio adds audio refinement to new Hong Kong Kee Club
Published: ASIA
CHINA: Having recently opened its doors to well heeled members of the public, the Hong Kong Home of Alfred Dunhill houses an impressive range of luxury goods that embody the famed Alfred Dunhill taste for the very finest and attention to detail.
In addition to the ground floor bespoke tailoring services, the first floor provides a fine wine reserve, a restaurant and a bar. Situated in the heart of the financial district, the Home of Alfred Dunhill boasts one of the city’s most prestigious addresses at Prince’s Building in Central.
Designed by Kee signature architect Gavin Tu in collaboration with Alfred Dunhill and Kee founder Christian Rhomberg, Alfie’s interiors are distinguished by cool reflective surfaces, dark woods, leathers and fabrics in warm colours. Like the private member clubs that exist in Hong Kong and Shanghai, music is one of the vital ingredients of this successfully expanding chain. Although the mezzanine floor is restricted by a 3m ceiling and full length glazed windows, project manager Eva Lee wasn’t going to be deterred in providing her customers with a sound reinforcement system capable of living up to the venue’s renowned dishes and wine list.
‘We cater to business professionals and high class shoppers six days per week and they want to listen to good music when relaxing here,’ she offered. ‘When we opened up the first Kee Club on Wellington Street, music and lighting really wasn’t our emphasis, but we soon accepted this as an oversight and realised that a DJ was also a key feature. DJ Vinnie from Singapore convinced us at an early stage to adopt a Martin Audio speaker system and we have followed his good advice since. We tend to stick to the same brands when rolling out new Kee Clubs, whether it be kitchen appliances or loudspeakers.’
Dah Chong Hong Ltd supplied and installed the resulting speaker system in the latest Kee Club. Martin Audio C6.8T ceiling speakers are boosted by ceiling mounted Blackline F8+ speakers together with a single CS10 subwoofer, all powered by MA4.8Q amplifiers. An iPod is primarily used as a BGM source, but the DJ booth comes to life on Thursday and Friday evenings courtesy of Pioneer CDJ1000 turntables and a DJM800 mixer.
‘Music is now the very soul of Kee Club and Martin Audio has provided us with that,’ continued Ms Lee. ‘We needed more than just ceiling speakers without creating reverberation and Dah Chong Hong Ltd understood our needs and duly delivered. Our decisions have been vindicated as another club owner came to check our system out recently following a customer telling him how good it is. We’ve raised the bar – literally!’