Project Outline
Garden Centre Background Music System Installation at this retail and hospitality site based in Orpington, Sidcip. Ruxley Manor garden centre is a large site, encompassing multiple indoor and outdoors retail and hospitality areas, including a farm shop & food hall, large restaurant and smaller cafe areas. Our brief was to provide a flexible background music (BGM) solution to all areas to help set and improve mood/ambience (audio branding). We were asked to design and install an audio system that connects to the garden centre LAN and wifi networks for software and app management and control on a zone basis to localise playout control and volume levels. Smart devices, phones and tablets to be used by local area management staff to select and control music independently (eg. the restaurant manager can select music options and control local playout volume levels as the ambient levels fluctuate during the day).
The garden centre music system was installed with multiple background music (BGM) music sources from a subscription based ‘curated’ music streaming service was used on this project to provide different music playout options to best fit the various local setting areas. To compliment expected fluctuation to customer levels (quiet, busy and in-between times), time based scheduling is used to automate music source selection and playout levels to control playout.
Audio Applications
- Public Address (PA) / Tannoy
- SIP / VoIP Integration
- iOS/Android Paging App
- Background Music (BGM)
- Multi-zone
- Music scheduling
- Software and app music and volume levels control
- Mass Notification
- Scheduled Audio Message (garden centre information, closing message announcements)
Audio Specification & Technologies
- Network / LAN, IP 8×8 Audio Matrix Processor
- Multiple music IP Network players / streamers
- SIP VoIP integration
Installation Details
To provide zone based playout, music selection and volume control (audio processing and routing control), we installed an IP/network based audio matrix. This unit is accessed, configured and controlled via the LAN/network and provides the primary controls for mixing, pre-amplification, DSP, input-output routing and zone volume controls.
High impedance, 100v line speakers (wide frequency range, 2-way for music), were installed throughout. Careful consideration was also made to speaker choice to reflect any local challenges or concerns for water ingress (eg. outdoors or any areas that would be subjected to water, commonly found in many areas of a garden centre).
We installed a number of subscription based network audio / music players. These 3rd party player devices were connected into the main audio matrix and wider audio system to provide multiple music source options for playout selection by each zone.
The audio system was configured to interface with the site SIP telephony service. This integration allowed users to ‘call’ into the system to make audio broadcast / tannoy announcements from desk phones and mobiles.
Recorded audio message files were created using Natural Text To Speech (TTS). The resulting MP3 audio files were uploaded to the system and scheduled for playout (eg. garden centre information and closing time prompting).
