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Over the last 27 years London Audio
has become
one of Canada's leading audio/visual installation
companies. We have served on the board of the Custom Electronic
Design and Installation
Association of Canada and have been featured
in both national and international publications.

London Audio has established an enviable
reputation as a provider of leading edge audio-visual installations
for health clubs and fitness facilities. Our track record
of successful installations is the product of careful planning;
craftsman-like technical installation; superb products and
great clients that understand the impact of high quality music
and video plays on the customer experience.
Creating a positive, entertaining
experience is essential to client retention, which drives
today's business. London Audio is intimately familiar with
the audio-visual needs of today' s leading fitness facilities:
as a result, our products and services
have been chosen by The Athletic Club, Total Fitness, Goodlife
Fitness, Gold's Gym, the University of Western Ontario and
Fanshawe College for a number of their facilities.
The most obvious sign of integration
in the in the fitness environment is the proliferation of
video entertainment in the cardio equipment area. Display
devices can range from LCD televisions mounted to the cardio
equipment, traditional CRT televisions mounted close to equipment
or large screen projection systems installed in projection
walls. Typically, London Audio utilizes CRT based televisions
or rear projection systems for the best return on investment.
Unlike the newer DLP and LCD displays, they are essentially
maintenance free during their installed life.
Under typical 24/7 usage conditions, we
would
expect a life span of eight or more years, although a scheduled
rotation of displays every five years is recommended. LCD
and DLP projection systems require replacement lamps every
8,000-10,000 hrs (10-13 months) at an average price of $500.00/lamp
plus installation. These technologies, however, are better
suited for use with computer generated images or signage as
traditional televisions lack the connectivity necessary for
the application. We would
recommend flat panel Plasma or LCD panels for electronic signage
applications: they are bright, bold and certainly capture
the attention of any passerby.
In our health club installations we prefer
to treat the music systems as "front of house" systems
rather
than background music. Music energizes, motivates and, of
course, entertains. Rich, clear sound with
a beat that can be felt is an important component in our clients'
success. Fitness centers are traditionally
busy, noisy places and the music has to be able to cut through
the background racket of cardio
equipment, plate equipment and general traffic without being
overbearing. Out systems offer superb
fidelity using loudspeakers from JBL and Tannoy to offer sound
quality up to recording studio standards
if you choose.

We have selected JBL Control Contractor
series speakers for most of our projects as they offer a variety
of size and quality options in both free standing and ceiling
mounted applications. They are all voiced identically so that
as one passes from the reception area, to cardio, to free-weights
and into the locker rooms the same tonal balance is maintained.
They offer extremely versatile installation and blend in well
with most décor choices. Subwoofers are a standard
item in all our installations in order to provide the visceral
impact that background music systems simply can't deliver.
This is key to delivering rich, full-bodied sound at moderate
volume levels.
For our deluxe systems we use Tannoy loudspeakers,
the same speakers found in more
recording studios than any other brand. For the
most critical projects, the superior fidelity of
Tannoy studio monitors delivers a level of performance that
clients could only dream of
achieving in their home let alone expect to find
in their heath club. Previous clients have used this level
of quality to make a statement about the overall quality of
their facility, their staff and their level of service.
All our installations are zoned to provide
a different musical experience for each of the club's patrons.
Music with a harder edge for the free weight area, middle
of the road or top 40 selections in the cardio and plate area
and something a little softer in the women's area are typical
requests of our clients. For zone control we use the DBX 640
processor. It enables common source components to be shared
throughout the facility with global paging available for announcements.
Within a zone, we can supply either a basic remote volume
control or a combination
source selector and level control for simple system control.
The importance of music in the fitness experience is expressed
most dramatically in the aerobics studio. It is the highest
energy, most directly engaging area of any club. During hip-hop
instruction clients expect a nightclub like sound experience.
For yoga or Pilates smooth and tuneful music is essential.
A second rate sound system simply diminishes the experience.
Today's leading aerobics instructors have become performance
artists in their own right and we have had several award-winning
instructors hone their skills on sound systems installed by
London Audio.
As important as fidelity is to effective
fitness instruction, reliability is always paramount. The
system must function day in and day out with redundancy provided
for the inevitable emergencies. Although London Audio's clients
have managed to blow up dozens of speakers, amplifiers and
every major brand of microphone on the planet, we have learned
what products will actually work in the field and which vendors
will stand behind their products under real world conditions.
Heroic service calls
sometimes make for great client referrals but we would frankly
rather the equipment just didn't break
in the first place.
The least glamorous component of any aerobics
system is the microphone but it is the heart of the whole
system. If the instructor cannot be heard clearly and reliably,
how can they instruct? Wireless headsets are available from
every major vendor
including Shure, Audio Technica, Crown, and specialty "aerobics"
microphone manufacturers. All have failed predictably not
at the microphone itself, but at the lead-out wire and connection
to the body pack. The only way to overcome this problem is
to eliminate the wires. London Audio recommends the Samson
Airline series of microphones in which the transmitter is
built into the headband of the microphone, eliminating the
number one cause of failure.
For system amplification we recommend Crown
amplifiers exclusively. These are true professional grade
components found in nightclubs and in touring systems around
the world. To recreate the nightclub experience, the same
equipment found in the clubs must be used. Using portable
DJ grade gear will not
yield the audio quality or provide the long-term durability
of a properly installed and tuned club system.
One key to system performance is the inclusion
of acoustic treatments. Most aerobics studios are large reverberant
spaces with poor intelligibility. London
Audio has successfully used off the shelf acoustic baffles
and custom, stretched fabric wall systems in order to upgrade
system performance.
Our ability to implement quality installation
is
hardly limited to small boutique facilities. Our
latest project was the completion of the Athletic
Club's newest facility: a mammoth 52,000 square
foot facility in Thunder Bay, Ontario. This facility
included music systems for plate, cardio and free
weight areas; an enormous cardio theater wall;
three aerobics rooms and an indoor pool! With
London Audio's attention to detail and careful
planning, this project was finished on time and
on budget.

We are confident that we can extend our
history
of success with your facility and welcome the
opportunity to work with you on this project.
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© 2004 LONDON AUDIO INC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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