Saw this today. Quoted here is a small section of the article from the Wall Street Journal:
It wasn’t the song (something by Cake) or the volume (modest), but the clarity and richness of the sound emanating from the speakers nestled among the albums and whiskey bottles behind the bar.
“It was three dimensional,” Brock recalled. “I couldn’t think about anything else.” Eventually, he asked about the gear the owners were using, “and by the time I was landing in Nashville I had already found the exact speakers and the exact amp.” Barely 90 days later, his speakers—vintage Tannoys used in recording sessions with the country supergroup the Highwaymen—and an assortment of powerhouse McIntosh amplifiers were wowing customers at Bar Continental, Brock’s newly re-christened restaurant in the Grand Hyatt Nashville, along with a record collection thousands strong.
End Quote
The full article is in the Arts and Culture, Food and Cooking Section at their website.
Hard for me to eat and listen seriously at the same time. If the quality of the sound is compelling, I cannot eat. Sipping wine, of course, works, but sitting still is best.
Has anyone been to one of these restaurants? What was it like?
David
At These Restaurants, Good Sound Is Just as Important as Good Food
A new wave of listening bars and restaurants pair high-quality food and drink with stunning high-fidelity audio
It wasn’t the song (something by Cake) or the volume (modest), but the clarity and richness of the sound emanating from the speakers nestled among the albums and whiskey bottles behind the bar.
“It was three dimensional,” Brock recalled. “I couldn’t think about anything else.” Eventually, he asked about the gear the owners were using, “and by the time I was landing in Nashville I had already found the exact speakers and the exact amp.” Barely 90 days later, his speakers—vintage Tannoys used in recording sessions with the country supergroup the Highwaymen—and an assortment of powerhouse McIntosh amplifiers were wowing customers at Bar Continental, Brock’s newly re-christened restaurant in the Grand Hyatt Nashville, along with a record collection thousands strong.
End Quote
The full article is in the Arts and Culture, Food and Cooking Section at their website.
Hard for me to eat and listen seriously at the same time. If the quality of the sound is compelling, I cannot eat. Sipping wine, of course, works, but sitting still is best.
Has anyone been to one of these restaurants? What was it like?
David
A restaurant that caters to the noms de plumes whom value gear and “playback quality” well over and above the media. He can remember the gear but not the song, sadly very audiophile.
A festering of these establishments appeared in Quebec and Ontario about thirteen years ago.
Overhere, you won’t find anything even close. There’s one very nice little bar (called „Alfred“) though, with a turntable installed and a nice record collection publicly accessible. But they’re using some streaming services most of the time. And besides the turntable (a sl1200mk something), the gear is mediocre, the speakers crammed into the most impossible corner, so no fidelity joy. Usually, restaurants invest in so-called „pro“ gear which suit whatever public space one can imagine: shopping malls, hotel-lobbies, elevators, churches. Music perception does not seem to be part of the concept.
I am looking a for a decent setup for such an application for classic Bollywood but hasn't been easy with no real solution so far
Back in the day, LaCita restaurant/nightclub, open deck eating on Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour, Sydney had some very nice monitor type speakers fitted all around and staged for each table in the eating area. They played a mix of Reggaeton, dancehall, salsa and reggae through the day at a nice enjoyable volume that still allowed conversation. At night, it was a salsa club in the restaurant area and a reggaeton club upstairs. This was done by a friend who is now a prominent promoter for such and these days setting up similar venues in Qld
In the early 90s, we had DJ Ted Vessel's Lion Sound System in Sydney. I played on that just once, but always though it to be very high in fidelity. From the dj desk watching over the floor, you could close your eyes and picture the whole Taxi Gang performing on pretty much most reggae
Back in the day, LaCita restaurant/nightclub, open deck eating on Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour, Sydney had some very nice monitor type speakers fitted all around and staged for each table in the eating area. They played a mix of Reggaeton, dancehall, salsa and reggae through the day at a nice enjoyable volume that still allowed conversation. At night, it was a salsa club in the restaurant area and a reggaeton club upstairs. This was done by a friend who is now a prominent promoter for such and these days setting up similar venues in Qld
In the early 90s, we had DJ Ted Vessel's Lion Sound System in Sydney. I played on that just once, but always though it to be very high in fidelity. From the dj desk watching over the floor, you could close your eyes and picture the whole Taxi Gang performing on pretty much most reggae
Thanks for sharing your experiences with these types of venues. Seems they come and go over the years...
So I guess it is time for the idea in the US. To quote the article by Matthew Kronsberg,
"The formula seems to be working. Online searches for listening bars jumped 306% in the past year, according to a recent report by Yelp. Bart Stephens, host of the forthcoming podcast, “American Kissa,” counts about 75 such places,"
"Go to the website or Instagram feed of a listening bar to scope out a menu, and you might find yourself scanning not just upcoming theme nights and listening sessions (see: “Hear Here,” below), but equipment manifests as well"
Seems a popular equipment combo is high efficiency speakers and tube amplifiers. They also seem to play whole sides or both sides of an album. Nice!
David
In addition to sake and cocktails, Manhattan’s Tokyo Listening Room offers an extensive list of Champagnes. Photo: F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal
So I guess it is time for the idea in the US. To quote the article by Matthew Kronsberg,
"The formula seems to be working. Online searches for listening bars jumped 306% in the past year, according to a recent report by Yelp. Bart Stephens, host of the forthcoming podcast, “American Kissa,” counts about 75 such places,"
"Go to the website or Instagram feed of a listening bar to scope out a menu, and you might find yourself scanning not just upcoming theme nights and listening sessions (see: “Hear Here,” below), but equipment manifests as well"
Seems a popular equipment combo is high efficiency speakers and tube amplifiers. They also seem to play whole sides or both sides of an album. Nice!
David
In addition to sake and cocktails, Manhattan’s Tokyo Listening Room offers an extensive list of Champagnes. Photo: F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal
Typical...
Clueless, typical.
Do they listen or eat?
Those things are exclusive... good food and good sounds.
I mean, you can drink good beer at at nice bluegrass festival... or boogie with a nice lady while having a drink... but having a nice dinner while listening?
Maybe a cognac and a cigar while listening to a great system.. but my wife won't let me do it indoors.. so.....
Sorry, but this is typical of people who have never really heard music - either live or through a good system.
And, when I drink Onikoroshi, it's in company of friends with good food. Oiishi!
The airPod generation.
Clueless, typical.
Do they listen or eat?
Those things are exclusive... good food and good sounds.
I mean, you can drink good beer at at nice bluegrass festival... or boogie with a nice lady while having a drink... but having a nice dinner while listening?
Maybe a cognac and a cigar while listening to a great system.. but my wife won't let me do it indoors.. so.....
Sorry, but this is typical of people who have never really heard music - either live or through a good system.
And, when I drink Onikoroshi, it's in company of friends with good food. Oiishi!
The airPod generation.
I Japan they have several so-called Jazz Cafes where music is played through vintage studio monitors. Now we know whom Kenrick sound is selling all its refurbished JBLs to ..... 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_kissa
Regards
Charles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_kissa
Regards
Charles
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You're all looking at it from an "extreme" point of view. While metoo would not enjoy a dinner where people would listen to the music/audio-gear, and OTOH don't mind (me or others) eating low-end something while listening to high-end something, I clearly prefer being at a place where the music, the playback quality, AND the food/drinks are contributing to a good time with friends (or wothout).
And if there was a listening cafe in my town, I'd get there and do both, socialize and enjoy/savour
And if there was a listening cafe in my town, I'd get there and do both, socialize and enjoy/savour
I remember a restaurant/bar in the Torrance CA area with the name of '94th Aerosquadron' which was modelled like a 1st WW trench complex. You entered through a narrow corridor lined with sand bags. Each seat was equipped with a gas mask and a headset.
In itself not bad but the sound system had a constant chatter of machine gun fire and people screaming in fear.
Only went there once.
Jan
In itself not bad but the sound system had a constant chatter of machine gun fire and people screaming in fear.
Only went there once.
Jan
Attachments
You could not have found a better tittle for the rest of that bit of most miserable sounding ignorance
For some of our cultures internationally, food and entertainment go hand in hand. Its joyful and highly recommended, give it a try man
Short answer. No. Longer answer, it wouldn't be high on my list either. If I go to a restaurant I want to eat and to be able to talk and LISTEN to the people I'm out with.
There is some research that shows how food tastes can be affected by what people listen to while they're eating.
There is some research that shows how food tastes can be affected by what people listen to while they're eating.
Most venues have TERRIBLE acoustics, what with wooden or stone floors and a lack of damping materials in the venue.
Watching even football at most pubs is a screeching and deafening experience IMO added to the noise and chatter.
There are solutions to lousy acoustics:
Line arrays have far less acoustic power overall, being focussed horizontally:
This is a SEAS solution for overly lively and reflective rooms. Clearer in the midrange, I suspect.
You can further work with the room as in this Roy Allison design:
I used to use Tannoy 15" drivers in our house disco, which were excellent. A 4x 15" cabinet would have been very PA, of course. Couldn't afford that!
It's the inverse square law for single driver sound:
Why it is so deafening if you are close to a single MT type driver.
Line arrays work better, being cylindrical dispersion, and have less excursion on drivers, which is good for distortion levels.
Mellow music is good too, IMO. Dan Ogus on our own Portsmouth ExpressFM plays highly laid back music:
https://www.expressfm.com/programmes/scattering-the-roots/
Worth listening to. You can stream it.
Watching even football at most pubs is a screeching and deafening experience IMO added to the noise and chatter.
There are solutions to lousy acoustics:
Line arrays have far less acoustic power overall, being focussed horizontally:
This is a SEAS solution for overly lively and reflective rooms. Clearer in the midrange, I suspect.
You can further work with the room as in this Roy Allison design:
I used to use Tannoy 15" drivers in our house disco, which were excellent. A 4x 15" cabinet would have been very PA, of course. Couldn't afford that!
It's the inverse square law for single driver sound:
Why it is so deafening if you are close to a single MT type driver.
Line arrays work better, being cylindrical dispersion, and have less excursion on drivers, which is good for distortion levels.
Mellow music is good too, IMO. Dan Ogus on our own Portsmouth ExpressFM plays highly laid back music:
https://www.expressfm.com/programmes/scattering-the-roots/
Worth listening to. You can stream it.