How a Trendy, New Washington D.C. Hotspot Achieved 'Very Musical Sound'

As an international hub, Washington, D.C. has always been an always-on cultural scene, with über-trendy night spots and “eat and be seen” restaurants opening seemingly every week. Shōtō is the newest addition to U.K. restauranteur Arjun Waney’s. The ambience is a contemporary take on traditional Japanese casual, with tight, punchy audio provided by a compact but powerful DAS Audio sound system .

Audio in the main dining area is handled by 27 DAS Audio Quantum Series Q-23-T two-way full-range systems. The Q-23-T’s compact look and short-throw design is exactly what the room called for, explained managing partner Arman Naqi. “We wanted a system that would deliver full sound, very musical sound, but not overpower people’s conversations. And we wanted it to look great yet blend in seamlessly with the rest of the room’s décor.”

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Twenty DECO-6-TB two-way in-ceiling speakers are distributed throughout to round out coverage, and eight Q-10 ultracompact 10-inch subwoofers are discreetly placed around the room. The system was designed and commissioned by John Fiorito, DAS Audio’s hospitality and nightclub national sales manager and installed by 305AV with support from the DAS Audio applications engineering team.

“As always, when we received this design request via our website, we sat down with the integrator to determine the best solution for the venue," Geovanni Ortiz, the lead applications engineer on the project, explained. "The Quantum series was an ideal choice, providing uniform coverage and consistent speech intelligibility across the room’s unique dimensions.”

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“We have live DJs three nights a week, and our goal right from the start was to be the best sounding restaurant in DC,” Naqi concluded. “We have truly accomplished that. There’s no bad seat in the restaurant. No matter where you’re sitting you get great sound and a great experience.”