Optimal Audio has launched Venue Wizard, a free online tool that gives venue owners and integrators a system recommendation in under five minutes, with no sign-up required. Six short steps of questions about the space and how it is used are all it takes for Venue Wizard to draw on the full Optimal Audio ecosystem and suggest a combination of multi-zone control, amplification and loudspeakers.
Anyone who starts looking into commercial audio for a venue soon runs into the same obstacle. The market is broad, the products look alike on the page, and the descriptions are written for audio professionals rather than the people who will use the system every day. Venue Wizard starts from the other end: the venue and what happens in it, not the product.
The questions are written in the language of running a venue, not the language of a datasheet. Venue Wizard asks whether the venue shows live sport rather than whether HDMI connectivity is required, and that answer steers the recommendation towards the Zone family. The final choice within the range is then shaped by the number of zones the venue needs and whether a powered variant suits the way the loudspeakers will be deployed. Live bands, background music and the other ways a venue is used are handled the same way.
Practical questions shape the outline specification too, such as whether loudspeakers will be mounted on the wall, in the ceiling or outdoors. An “I don’t know” option is offered throughout, and any uncertainty is carried forward to the local distributor, who is better placed to resolve it. Venue Wizard also asks what matters most – lowest possible cost or room to grow – and weights its recommendation accordingly.
Each recommendation begins with control, followed by amplification and loudspeakers. Loudspeaker selection is driven by content, so a room built around background music is treated differently from one that hosts live bands. Every product or product grouping comes with an explanation of why it has been recommended, so buyers understand the reasoning as well as the result.
Venue Wizard is deliberately a starting point rather than a full system design tool. Buyers who would like their recommendation emailed to them, or followed up, can submit a few details. The recommendation is then forwarded to the Optimal Audio distributor in their country, where an expert can refine the specification around the venue.
