HARROGATE, ENGLAND-Ministry of Sound has chosen the town of Harrogate for its first new bar concept, setting the stage for its planned inauguration of a major bar chain across Britain by moving into Harrogate's original bathhouse. The 700-capacity venue, under the stewardship of general manager Andy Dempster, will include a Jacuzzi, hanging chairs, VIP areas, touchscreen computers replacing waiters, and a sound system courtesy of Martin Audio.

Ministry of Sound has chosen the town of Harrogate for its first new bar concept, which includes luxurious accommodations and a sound system courtesy of Martin Audio.

The Ministry of Sound's relationship with Martin Audio has been growing since it first put a 5.1 DJ monitor system into the original Ministry at the Elephant & Castle five years ago. Since then, MoS's Dave Bradshaw and his technical team have rarely missed an opportunity to upgrade to the range of Blackline, Contractor, and Wavefront line array products. DJs love Martin Audio's Blackline series for reference monitoring, so it was natural that Bradshaw would choose this high-powered series when specifying the system for Harrogate.

In the corners of the main dance floor, the Ministry has flown four Blackline F15s, reinforced by four S218 subs with a pair of F12 monitors. The main bar contains a total of eight F12s and two S218s, and a pair of F8s provide the DJ reference sound at the booth.

There are 11 F8s performing infill duties throughout the high-profile areas, while downstairs in the Kandi Bar, replete with giant leather beds, six F8s and two S15 subwoofers provide sound reinforcement. The VIP rooms (which offer local control) include 20 of Martin Audio's C115 Contractor series, supported by five CS256 subs.

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