Romania is a beautiful country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Steeped in rich cultural lore from the omnipresent Carpathian Mountains and the historical Transylvania region, Romania ranks among the fastest-growing economies in the European Union. When WJB Media was looking to build the first certified Dolby Atmos Music Studio in Bucharest, Romania, together with Ines Sound, they turned to LEA Professional to amplify the space.
The team’s end goal in creating the studio was to ensure more engineers and artists could experience the immersive effects of Dolby Atmos first-hand. The studio, which runs a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos system with Lipinski speakers and four LEA Professional amplifiers, is already attracting musical talent from far and wide.
The visionary behind the studio is legendary sound engineer Joe Hellow, who has worked with some of the top artists and labels before using the pandemic experience to redefine what was next in music production. This was Hellow’s second experience working with LEA Professional amps, having already created a similar studio in Nashville, TN.
“What sticks out to me with LEA technology is that everything you want in an amp is there,” said Hellow, Executive Music Supervisor with WJB Media. “If you want to adjust the crossovers or sensitivity, or put them to sleep if you’re not listening to music and automatically wake them up, and more. It’s the richest feature set I’ve ever seen with an amp.”
Sound clarity is the reason why LEA Professional amplifiers pair so well with the Dolby Atmos system, so the studio installed two Connect Series 354 amplifiers, a Connect Series 702 amplifier, and a Connect Series 164 amplifier to power the immersive audio experience.
The IoT-enabled 4-channel 354 provides 350 watts per channel into 2, 4, and 8 ohms, 70Vrms, and 100Vrms and supports two Smart Power Bridge channels. Conversely, the 2-channel 702 delivers 700 watts per channel, while the 4-channel 164 provides 160 watts per channel. The 702 and 164 support high-Z (70V or 100V) and low-Z selectable by channel.
Because Hellow is based in the US, he utilized the LEA Cloud to maintain the system remotely.
“All of the amps are connected via Ethernet, so it’s easy to jump on any computer worldwide and log into the devices,” said Hellow. “It’s very convenient for many aspects of system maintenance, from simple adjustments to more advanced tunings.”
LEA Cloud provides remote monitoring and control for LEA amplifiers and gives system integrators robust, reliable, and secure monitoring and control capabilities. The dashboard view lets users see the health of all their LEA installations on a single screen while also allowing users to perform over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates, ensuring all installations are kept up to date with the latest firmware. Additionally, LEA Cloud supports event and fault notifications via text or email alerts, allowing integrators to be notified of system alerts immediately. These notifications allow for proactive communication and system maintenance so that issues can be addressed promptly, often before end users are even aware a problem occurred — and it provides an additional service that integrators can add to their recurring revenue models.
“It’s a testament to the power of the LEA Cloud that you can support a Dolby Atmos studio from the other side of the world,” said Brian Pickowitz, VP of Marketing at LEA Professional. “This installation is a bellwether of our amps’ capabilities, and we’re very pleased to be part of such an auspicious undertaking.”