Birmingham’s Anjuman El-Saifee Community Centre

Florence (Italy) 10th September 2018 – The recently-built Anjuman El-Saifee Community Centre in Birmingham, UK is benefitting from Powersoft’s Ottocanali 4K4 amp which was specified as part of the AV installation. With good speech intelligibility at the forefront of requirements for a House of Worship, Powersoft’s Ottocanali product was a clear choice for the project – which went on to become a finalist in the InAVation Awards 2018.

The Dawoodi Bohra community spent years fundraising, planning and preparing to build the Community Centre comprising a mosque, evening school and sports hall – and as with any House of Worship, it would require a robust AV system so that the imams and speakers could clearly project their message to the audience.

Pete Rutherford owns and runs Direct Audio Visual, which was engaged as AV integrator for the project. With a background in retail, corporate and warehouses, this House of Worship project was a departure for Rutherford and his team. “With the layout and events that were to be run in the Centre, it required installed equipment run as a live event – like trying to equip a nightclub venue with the what you would put in a retail environment – two different worlds meeting,” he said.

With the building and network already part constructed, there were a number of challenges and constraints for Rutherford and his team to address. “We had to work with cabling laid by a previous installer and make several adjustments. We also had to consider the lines of symmetry and aesthetic of the building when planning the positioning of the speakers. Time was against us and we faced some delays as we could only work in the buildings at specific times,” recalls Rutherford.

Sourcing the right equipment quickly was key to the success of the installation, and Rutherford turned to Powersoft’s Ottocanali 4K4 amp to power the Pan Acoustics steerable array and Audac loudspeakers fitted into the ceiling. Mipro microphones were installed where the imams sit and an Attero Tech Dante-networked audio interface.

“We’ve been working with Powersoft amplifiers for the last two and a half years on various different projects and I put them in whenever I get the chance. I’d also previously worked with the Powersoft Ottocanali before in distribution centres which have requirements that are similar to this environment, and found it very effective and been impressed by its efficiency. I’ve never had any problems with it reliability-wise” Rutherford expands. “In my books, Powersoft are just really good at what they do.”

A flexible and reliable 8-channel power amplifier with up to a total of 4,000 W at 4?, the Ottocanali 4K4 is ideal for multi-zone applications in small to mid-scale installs such as this. Ottocanali 4K4 supports any combination of lo-Z loudspeakers, mono-bridgeable channel pairs and 70V/100V Hi-Z distributed lines with no need for output step-up transformers.

Featuring switchable main/aux signal inputs and offering a wide range of system control, alarms, GPI/O and monitoring functions as well as sound shaping options, the Ottocanali 4K4 implements redundant universal switch mode power supplies with PFC and patented SRM (Smart Rails Management) technology maximizing reliability, efficiency and reducing power consumption.

Powersoft’s legendary efficiency saves valuable energy, keeping both operational cost and carbon footprint at a minimum. The Ottocanali 4K4 has outstandingly low power consumption and heat dissipation, dramatically reducing costs from the AC mains supply and air conditioning/cooling systems – not to mention the benefits to the environment for a greener planet.

Marc Kocks, business development manager for the EMEA fixed install market at Powersoft, comments: “We’ve steadily built our credentials in the House of Worship sector, where intelligibility is understandably high on the list of priorities when it comes to the audio set up. The Ottocanali 4K4 addresses the challenges of amplifying in a House of Worship environment, where sound distribution must be uniform, easy to control and reliable. It provides clarity throughout the dynamic range, whether it be speech or music reproduction – in a sonically-unforgiving venue with high ceilings and highly reflective surfaces.

“Our install-dedicated amplifier platforms can be specified with optional DSP, allowing for total control over the sound signal. Inbuilt protections ensure reliability even in the most demanding conditions, whilst an easy to use, fully customisable interface ensures straightforward system management for untrained professionals” he asserts.

The Anjuman El-Saifee Community Centre and Mosque commented that they were very happy with the specified equipment and quality of sound throughout the Centre, and in fact, have received many compliments from visitors about the excellent clarity. They now plan to engage Direct Audio Visual across a number of other Centres in Leicester, Manchester and London.

Photo credits: @InAVate Magazine