Yamaha and Nexo Help Bring A Taste Of Peru To The City Of London

International Latin American restaurant group COYA has chosen a matched Yamaha and Nexo sound reinforcement and background music system for its new 170-cover restaurant and bar in the City of London. Located close to the Bank of England, COYA is a day-to-night venue which makes inventive use of its zoned audio specification to set the mood and strengthen the identity of its brand.

COYA's executive chef is Sanjay Dwivedi, who cooked for the Rolling Stones on the Bridges to Babylon tour, later opening London restaurant Zaika, which was the first Indian restaurant to earn a Michelin star. As well as being involved with a range of other high profile eateries, he turned his hand to Peruvian food at COYA’s first, award-winning London restaurant in Mayfair, now followed by the Angel Court venue.

The new 418m2 space features a contemporary Peruvian restaurant and Latin American bar, the Pisco Lounge. Having previously upgraded the sound system for the Pisco Lounge at COYA in Mayfair - with Nexo ID series full range loudspeakers and ID S110i subs - London-based AV design and installation company Vibasound was asked to specify a sound system for the new COYA Angel Court. The brief was that it would form a fundamental part of the dining and entertainment experience.

The seven-zone system is managed by a Yamaha MTX3 matrix mixer/signal processor, with a DCH8 digital control hub, six DCP1V4S and a DCP4S surface-mounted control units, plus an iPad running Yamaha’s ProVisionaire Touch software. “The MTX3 processor has excellent software. It’s user-friendly, reliable, well-designed and is one of the best we’ve used for a multi-zone application,” says Vibasound’s Peter Kellet.

In the Pisco Lounge, eight Nexo ID24i loudspeakers are flown in front of the bar, plus a pair of ID S110i subs, powered by a NEXO DTD amplifier with a DTD Controller. This arrangement means bar-staff are not competing with the audio output, but house DJs have enough power to complement their music.

14 Yamaha VXS5 compact, full range speakers are installed in the restaurant and ancillary areas, for discreet background music delivery, while a private dining room and the toilets are equipped with four Yamaha VXC4 ceiling speakers. These are powered by five PX3 amplifiers.

“The Yamaha and Nexo loudspeakers complement each other really well,” says Peter. “The VXS5s are perfect for areas that don’t require much sound reinforcement, whereas the ID Series speakers are necessary to deliver the higher SPL for DJs and live musicians in the bar.”

“ProVisionaire Touch means COYA manager Nizar Bel Hadj has complete discretionary control in his hands,” he continues. ”It has allowed us to program customised presets, which have been structured according to different times of day, or he can personally manage the output of a DJ from the Pisco Lounge all the way through to the restaurant.”

“Guests begin their COYA journey in the Pisco Lounge, so the audio plays an essential role in creating the atmosphere,” adds Nizar. “Part of our identity is the upbeat environment at the bar, and here the sound and lighting are the most important things. The quality of sound is very high, which gives the impression that the music is loud, but you can still clearly hear conversation.”

“We are definitely seeing a trend for restaurants becoming more savvy and particular about their audio requirements,” adds Peter. “I am able to recommend high-quality products like Yamaha and Nexo, because budgets are increasing as clients understand the value of a main system used with live music and DJs.”