The Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina, located at the northern tip of Estero Island in the Fort Myers area, has won awards from the likes of Conde Nast Traveler and TripAdvisor for its amenities and striking beauty. The resort is positioned in a prime location along the Florida shore and boasts premiere beach access, restaurants, a spa and incredible pools.
That said, the location also comes with some expected Floridian challenges, such as a recent hurricane that did damage to the resort’s audio system. But, while many would see this as a problem for the destination, Pink Shell saw it as an opportunity to reimagine its entire soundscape and AV experience for guests. And at the heart of the new system sit a number of Ashly Audio solutions.
“When I showed them the Ashly offerings, and then the price we could install a complete system at with Ashly, they were immediately on board with adding additional features,” said Mike Kelly of Southwest Florida Custom Electronics – the integrator who designed and installed the new audio system. “They really saw the value in adding more locations of audio and in having an excellent ability to control the system.”
Kelly says audio is now routed to the resorts’ porte-cochere, lobby, three different pools, the bars, restaurants, on-site gym, conference room and even the bathrooms.
“We expect we’ll be adding the spa to the list very soon,” Kelly said. “Right now, in total, we have more than 90 speakers installed. The resort is just blown away by what we’ve been able to accomplish.”
Kelly says the reason the project grew so substantially was thanks to Ashly offerings, which bring key benefits such as competitive price and integration with Audinate’s Dante protocol – which allows for AV signals to be sent over local networks.
“When you combine the quality of Ashly with the flexibility of Dante you really do see incredible results,” Kelly said. “The result of that combination at The Pink Shell is extremely evident. The ability to run signals over the network was huge in getting it across such a large resort. There’s really no practical way it could have been done without that combination of Ashly and Dante.”
Using the network to route audio signals provides the combined benefit of efficiency in installation and reduction in labor and materials. Kelly said this allows him and his team to install larger projects at lower price points – a huge win for both his business and the client.
In total, Kelly integrated an Ashly PEMA 8125.70 and an Ashly PEMA 4250.70 for power amplification, two Ashly nXp1504 provide DSP for the facility, an Ashly nXe1.54 and nXp754 provide networked power amplification as well. Audinate’s Dante – which is native in many Ashly solutions – provides the audio-over-IP capabilities. The nearly-100 speakers installed are from a variety of manufacturers.
And while Kelly evangelizes the effectiveness of Audio-over-IP, he says the component that first won him over to Ashly solutions was the ability to use Ashly software on an iPad.
“There’s no other app out there in the commercial space that compares,” Kelly said. “I was able to sit down with it and program it specifically for what Pink Shell staff needed in different locations of the facility. Everyone knows how to work an iPad so that was really a different level of service I was able to bring to the project.”
Further, Kelly said he is utilizing a remote login component to allow him to access the system without the need to roll a support truck – giving his business the ability to effectively and continuously offer service on the system.
Kelly said the final aspect that won him over to Ashly solutions was the support he received during the project. “I can call up the techs directly on the phone,” Kelly said. “They were just an incredible help with any question I had.”
Kelly said the combination of elegant simplification, quick and affordable installation, and ongoing support from Ashly gives him another tool in the toolbox when he is bidding on projects.
“And the result of having that capability is a client who is just absolutely excited about the system,” Kelly said. “Honestly, I am sometimes amazed by how well this works. Networked AV combined with Ashly’s features simply gives me more to offer clients. I can do stuff differently. No more being limited by how many hundreds of feet of earth are in the way. No more long training sessions on the equipment. Ashly has absolutely changed the way I work.”
