Premium Indian restaurant and bar opts for RAW finish loudspeakers from Genelec.
Reminded of somewhere you’ve been before? Deja Brew, a premium Indian restaurant and bar situated in the stylish district of M Block Market in Greater Kailash 2, New Delhi, demands attention with its instantly memorable name. Backed up with high-quality food, a multitude of brews and five-star service to match, the location has quickly gained popularity. The venue is the brainchild of Naveen Sachdeva, the founder of Cherish Hospitality, along with Parth Chadha and Aashish Goyal. The trio has created a successful concept that is already a favourite spot for many, much like their popular brand, Ministry of Beer. In keeping with the upmarket feel of the new venue, Deja Brew required a compact, yet exceptional sound system to match. Genelec was an obvious choice.
With a full house, Deja Brew comfortably seats 80 people across two storeys, with seating areas distributed in small, intimate pockets. “In opening a hybrid brew lounge, we needed a sound system with good tonal quality and great bass. However, due to space constraints, we were unable to install a subwoofer,” elaborates Sachdeva. “It was at this point that Sandeep Duggal at Value Marketing Systems (VMS) Delhi, who has over two decades of experience designing and installing sound systems, suggested Genelec.”
After visiting VMS’s dedicated demo facility and sampling the Genelec sound for themselves, Deja Brew opted for a selection of 4030 loudspeakers, favoured for their compact size and active design. In total, thirteen 4030 loudspeakers were provided by Genelec’s partner Alphatec AV, the largest distributor of AV equipment on the sub-continent, and installed by VMS.
“It became clear at the launch party, where almost 200 people were dancing to the music, that we had made the right decision,” explains Sachdeva. “We’re extremely pleased with the sound quality and distinctive appearance of the loudspeakers. Sandeep’s sound design and after-sales service have been excellent!”
Duggal, who is owner and technical head at VMS, explains the motivations behind the purchase: “We’ve worked hard to cultivate an energetic vibe at Deja Brew, but where customers can freely converse and relax. It was vital that customers could hear one another over the music. Genelec is well known for having an incredibly clean audio signature, offering unrivalled clarity and intelligibility irrespective of playback level. Taking this into consideration, opting for the 4030s was a no brainer.”
The 4030s are distributed across both floors to achieve even coverage in every section of the restaurant, with no hot spots or dead zones. One of the key factors in the decision was Genelec’s active design, which eliminates the need for external amplifiers, instead allowing the VMS team to run a reduced amount of cabling back to a single, centralised music processor. This is connected to a media player to provide staff with the ability to play whatever music they wish, with the additional option of pairing their own devices.
Projects of this size are where the 4030 model truly comes into its own, delivering high fidelity sound with balanced and precise bass reproduction, even at low SPLs, yet with sufficient power and headroom to easily accommodate much higher levels for events or functions. However, the default level has been optimised to promote a healthy level of conversation while playing background music.
The 4030’s small form factor combined with the extensive range of mounting accessories enabled VMS to integrate the loudspeakers seamlessly with the interior layout. “Alongside the wide range of RAL colours that Genelec offers, we noticed that the 4030s were also available in the RAW recycled aluminium finish, which is kinder to the environment as the models require no painting and less finishing material,” explains Sachdeva. The team agreed that this sustainable design also suited Deja Brew’s aesthetic, which balances an open industrial theme blended with traditional wooden, rustic tones, courtesy of Orphic Design Studio.
“We work to reduce our carbon footprint however we can, so if we do so whilst matching our interior, that’s a bonus,” remarks Sachdeeva. “It’s as if this model was designed specifically for Deja Brew, and we have Genelec’s comprehensive portfolio to thank for that, as well as Sandeep from VMS, who helped us navigate it professionally.”
