Hed Kandi chooses for Denon DNS5000 tabletops at Brownstone

Geschreven door Reind Dooyeweerd vrijdag, 20 mei 2005 01:23

The highly-specified DJ set-up at Brownstone in Bristol, provided by locally-based Bristol Architectural Sound Services (BASS), showcases a pair of Denon's groundbreadking DN-S5000 tabletop CD players - installed into the concrete booth at the request of Hed Kandi, who play a Thursday night residency there.

BASS’s Mike Brice says that these award-winning players, with the active analogue turntable platter, are a popular component of the Denon DJ catalogue, which he has been installing for several years. “I like Denon both for their features and their reliability,” he says.

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In a short space of time Brice’s company has established itself on the city’s late night circuit; venues he has fitted include the ultra chic Bar Pam Pam’s in Clifton — which features a Denon DN-S9000 double CD/MP3 player, with platter jogwheel — along with other high-profile venues such as Zeebar, Bar Wash and Shadow Rooms.

Mike Brice won the contract at Brownstone having previously worked for the venue’s owners, the fast-developing A3 Leisure; the venue has in turn been developed and operated by Rich Donaldson, who has quickly turned around the fortunes of the former Steamrock student venue with a 2am license.

Mike has been using Denon equipment since his DJ days, when he himself was resident at many of Bristol’s leading venues.

“I spent as much money on the Denon table-tops at Brownstone as I could within a limited budget,” he explained. “It was important that we had a player with the Alpha Track facility, enabling DJs to access different tracks from the same CD simultaneously and mix them.”

In fact the Denon DN-S5000, with its motor-driven active platter providing true vinyl emulation, boasts a number of firsts, including the ‘Hot Disc’ mode — this allows the DJ to eject a disc, which will then play for a further 35 seconds, enabling him to cue up his new disc. Mike also believes it’s more natural for a DJ to be confronted with a revolving turntable.

The system at Brownstone, where the venue has been stripped back to its natural brickwork as part of an interior design makeover from Interaction, feeds a Martin Audio sound reinforcement system. Because of its hard surfaces, the room required heavy EQing, which was accomplished on an Allen & Heath iDR4.

“We have had a great response by DJ’s to the playback equipment,” confirms Mike Brice, adding that club residents include Vibe 101’s Paul Conroy every Saturday night.