THE PLAZA HOTEL

In Sydney, a groundbreaking new venue has emerged within an iconic heritage-listed building. Its vision is to attain elite status among the world’s top super clubs.

The Plaza Hotel is a notable example of the inter-war building boom in central Sydney, featuring a striking Spanish Mission-style facade. Since its opening in 1930 as a movie theatre, it has played a significant role in the local entertainment scene and has undergone various transformations. Under the ownership of the Winchester Hotel Group, with creative direction from Sarah and Ryan Maloney, the theatre has been revitalised with new energy and vision.

The Plaza is unique because it offers six distinct areas for hosting events. These include a five-star dining restaurant, an underground vinyl bar club, a sumptuous classic 1930s movie theatre, themed VIP rooms, and the main superclub dance floor.

A Vision Beyond the Ordinary

From the beginning, Ryan’s vision has transformed Level One into a club inspired by Ibiza. The goal was straightforward yet ambitious: to create a venue recognised worldwide for its exceptional sound system, impressive lighting design, and stunning video wall. This venue aimed to attract the most renowned international DJs and performers, offering them a space that would challenge their artistic boundaries while providing an immersive experience that would leave a lasting impression on every guest. This massive project was ultimately awarded to Brendon Fava from Xcite Audio Visual Sydney.

Sound

The sound system is vital to the heart of any nightclub. Martin Audio was chosen to fulfil the brief of a premium product line and meet any international rider.

Anthony Russo from Technical Audio Group, Martin Audio’s Australian dealer, liaised closely with Brendon for the system design. Renowned in the industry and with decades of experience in countless nightclubs, Anthony understood that this project needed to be special. Discussing the challenging main room, “We wanted people to have a true high SPL immersive dance experience from every position on the dance floor,” he explains. “To achieve this, we decided to go beyond the typical two- or four-corner stack configuration and opted for a six-stack solution. This ensures that no matter where patrons are located, they will enjoy a unique 360-degree experience that surrounds them from every direction”.

To attain the desired coverage and high sound pressure levels, the WPL series from Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision line array range was selected. A total of 24 units were deployed in six hangs.

Anthony passionately explains, “People rarely experience a high-powered concert-style cabinet that operates well within its limits while maintaining significant headroom. This is crucial for efficiently handling the massive dynamic range produced by international DJs. Dance tracks often present the highest duty cycles that speakers will encounter, making it important to consider voice coil temperature buildup and its effects. Having enough cabinets certainly helps with this.

What sounds good at 9 PM must also sound as good at 4 AM. Additionally, the horn-loaded dual 12-inch drivers in the WPL provide a fast transient response in the 80-100Hz range of dance tracks, something typical sub cabinets cannot achieve.”

A total of 18 Martin Audio SXH super dual 18-inch hybrid subs were deployed in a six-stack configuration to complement the arrays.

Standing next to the main substack, which is an impressive 2.5 meters high, you can experience the impact. “This system isn’t just about volume, it’s about delivering precision, power, and consistency. Standing next to the main sub-stack, you can feel the controlled energy and clarity that sets this setup apart. It’s designed to hit hard, sound clean, and perform flawlessly all night,” says Brendon. 16 THS 15-inch 3-way coaxial cabinets also serve the VIP booth and bar areas. Thanks to their horn-loaded design and high SPL capability, these cabinets effectively provide the level of sound necessary as a delay, ensuring a seamless transition from the main dance floor.

With such an enormous FOH, the DJ monitors needed to go beyond the normal standard affair, consisting of two THS units mounted on custom-made brackets, paired with two SX 218 speakers to ensure they can withstand the demanding requirements of any performance.

A crucial focus was on vibration control and minimising disturbances to neighbouring properties. To ensure this, every cabinet was suspended using Embelton spring isolation or mounted on specialised floor mounts.

Custom rigging was designed and installed by Kerry Leghorn and his team from CVAV Sydney, renowned for overcoming significant installation challenges in the entertainment industry.

System processing is managed through an Allen & Heath AHM on a Dante network, powering 14 Martin Audio iKon amplifiers with a total available output power of 250,000 watts, an “engaging marketing number”, commented Brendon.

Elsewhere in Plaza’s Basement level, Sarah transformed the space into a moody, exclusive subterranean curated vinyl bar featuring cozy moody décor and highlighted by a stunning Onyx bar. The sound system enhances the atmosphere with a six-position immersive sound design scaled down for the space. It includes six Martin Audio CDD 15 speakers, eight CDD 10 speakers for fill, and two SX 218 sub-bass units. DJs are well-equipped, with stereo CDD 15s provided as monitors.

Lighting

The clubs lighting design brief from Ryan was to craft an atmosphere that fuses the glitz of Las Vegas crossed with iconic Ibiza nightclubs. A design collaboration between Xcite Audio Visual and CVAV resulted in a truss structure consisting of over 200m of custom-made F34 Global Truss provided by Design Quintessence, spanning the enormous heritage roof truss.

Utilising this structure, Show Technology was able to design a venue specific rig boasting an impressive array of fixtures, including 12 Martin Era 300s, eight ShowPro Pluto 8000s, six ShowPro Diamondbacks, 14 ShowPro Alligators, 38 ShowPro Pluto Beams, and two Look Solutions Unique 2.1 Hazers. This meticulously curated setup offers endless creative possibilities, from breathtaking aerial effects that utilise the venue’s soaring ceilings to intricate segment control that floods the dance floor with vivid patterns and colours.

Riley Holt, lighting operator for Plaza nightclub, has thoroughly enjoyed programming and operating this venue. He especially loves the Diamondbacks mounted on the wall behind the DJ. “Whenever someone asks me what my favourite fixture is, I say the Diamondbacks; they are so versatile; you can use them as blinders, wash lights or beams and the huge range of visual effects and patterns you can create from them is phenomenal. I am also a big fan of the Alligators; they are fun to operate, and I wish we had a few more… the dual face combined with the unlimited pan and tilt give me a lot of options throughout the night to change the lighting atmosphere throughout the club.”

At the heart of the venue’s lighting setup is the grandMA3 compact console, paired seamlessly with a Luminode 12 processor. With only two touch screens for operation, Riley recognised the importance of screen real estate in a nightclub environment. “The start show file was a great foundation. In MA2 I always created the groups, wings & MA tricks, but you already have those available in MA3.

I then combined the start show screen layers into two pages as initially they were split into each attribute, so I had everything available at my fingertips”.

The challenge was always to balance the design against the backdrop of an enormous video feature, ensuring that neither became the predominant main feature or star of the show.

Video Wall

If the lighting and sound aren’t spectacular enough, the heart of this venue features an enormous video display that stretches 20 metres across the entire length of the dance floor ceiling and serves as an immersive backdrop for the DJ booth. It’s a perfect enhancement for the venue. In total, 222 panels measuring 500mm by 500mm were installed.

“It’s not just a screen, it’s a mesmerising feature that can redefine what’s possible for immersive visuals, blending form and function to deliver a captivating experience,” commented Brendon.

Xcite Audio Visual has strategically partnered with Aurora to select premium components for a highly durable display that delivers an impressive brightness of 1250 cd/m² while maintaining an excellent contrast ratio. This display is engineered to produce deep blacks, and its optimal scanning and refresh rates guarantee the highest quality in custom visual content rendering. The fine-pitch V-Spec P2.91mm SMD LED, combined with a no-gap alignment and a specialised adhesive overlay, provides exceptional protection in a nightclub environment. Control of the panels is efficiently managed through a NovaStar system.

Each ruggedised cabinet panel features a custom locking system that maintains its structural integrity over the years, particularly considering the high energy levels generated by sub-bass. Additionally, the cabinets can be easily repurposed and redeployed at the venue, allowing for future upgrades or changes in venue design as needed.

Xcite Audio Visual prioritised content design as a key focus for their projects. They enlisted Michael Crane from Eyebyt, an expert in the industry recognised for his exceptional stylised content and design. Michael’s concert experience added the ‘wow’ factor that brought the screen to life.

Both video and lighting operators monitor a ShowKontrol Club system, the most popular time-code software available. This allows operators to access metadata, including the artist, track, album name, waveforms and BPM, via SMPTE code from the four connected Pioneer CDJs. It provides operators with precise look-ahead information and helps synchronise audio, video, and lighting.

The Result

In the nightlife world, there’s the past, the present, and now. This groundbreaking venue is undeniably the future. Already, the venue has hosted prominent local and international DJs such as Chris Stussy and Mind Against.

Xcite has designed a venue that draws partygoers, VIPs, and celebrities who want to be part of Australia’s next great nightlife revolution.

The Plaza stands as a landmark in Australia and demonstrates what can be achieved when an owner’s vision is delivered through a collaborative partnership with some of the best experts in the AV industry.

Audio

• 24 x Martin Audio WPL dual 12” concert line array elements
• 18 x Martin Audio SXH dual 18” hybrid sub-bass
• 16 x Martin Audio THS
• 4 x Martin Audio SX218 sub-bass 2 x Martin Audio SX118
• 8 x Martin Audio CDD15 6 x Martin Audio CDD10 11 x Martin Audio X8
• 4 x Martin Audio SX112 28 x QSC Audio AD-C6T
• 1 x Allen & Heath AHM-32 DSP
• 1 x Allen & Heath AHM-64 DSP
• 2 x Allen & Heath CC-7
• 4 x Allen & Heath Dante DT interfaces
• 2 x Aphex 120 line driver
• 3 x Netgear AV line M4350 24 switches
• 11 x Martin Audio iK42 power amplifier 3 x Martin Audio iK81 power amplifier 6 x QSC Audio 5050 power amplifier
• 4 x QSC Audio 2450 power amplifier
• 1 x QSC Audio MPA 20V power amplifier
• 2 x Pioneer DJM-V10 mixing desk 4 x Pioneer CDJ-3000 multi-player 4 x Pioneer PLX-1000 turntable
• 2 x Pioneer RMX-1000 effect machine

Lighting

• 12 x Martin ERA 300 Profile
• 8 x Pluto 8000 WBX
• 5 x ShowPro DiamondBack 14 x Alligator
• 38 x Pluto Beam
• 2 x Unique Hazer 2.1
• 1 x grandMA3 compact lighting desk

Video Wall

• 222 x Aurora Signage 550mm x 550mm panels
• Fine pitch V-Spec P 2.91mm SMD LED NovaStar VX1000 video processor

Company information

• www.plazahotel.sydney
• www.xciteav.com.au
• www.tag.com.au
• www.cvav.com.au