The Dominican Republic is a land of unparalleled natural beauty and vibrant culture, where lush landscapes and pristine beaches meet the rhythmic heartbeat of its people. Among the many treasures of this diverse island, Puerto Plata is a shining gem on the northern coast, offering a captivating blend of history, adventure, and natural beauty. A town steeped in colonial significance, Puerto Plata served as a key port during the colonial era, and its historic architecture still stands as a testament to its past. Located oceanside in Puerto Plata, the Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club resort boasts a diverse array of accommodations, where guests can enjoy breathtaking ocean or mountain views, fully equipped kitchens, and both private and communal pools, creating a serene and pampering retreat. The resort offers a wide range of recreational activities, including golf, scuba diving, and various water sports. Guests can also enjoy nightly entertainment, dance lessons, and a supervised Kid’s Club, ensuring fun for all ages.
The original audio design was a series of independent systems by area. Each restaurant, bar, and other rooms had their own audio equipment, resulting in excess gear installed in multiple IDFs. Resort staff contacted Fernando Hernández Voigt, CTO and Project Director of Musitempo, to help optimise the system and centralize operations. He included LEA Professional amplifiers as part of the retrofit. “We had to retrofit the system while the resort was operating, so rewiring and centralising everything while not disrupting guest activities was pretty challenging at times,” said Voigt. “Luckily, with the speaker tunings available from LEA, we didn’t have to go zone by zone and tweak the speaker settings. It was basically plug-and-play.”
Musitempo installed Connect Series 704D amplifiers and Connect Series 354D amplifiers to power the hotel’s loudspeakers. The IoT-enabled 4-channel 704D provides 700 watts per channel, while the 4-channel 354D offers 350 watts per channel. Both models support Hi-Z (70V or 100V) and Lo-Z selectable by channel and feature Smart Power Bridge technology. Dante-enabled models include the same features as Network Connect models, plus 96kHz-capable Dante and AES67 connectivity options. The Connect Series delivers an industry-first professional amplifier family to feature cloud connectivity, a revolutionary advancement and a significant benefit for anyone maintaining the systems. With LEA Cloud, AV teams like Musitempo can remotely control and monitor the amplifiers regardless of the location or time of day, and with no subscription model or hidden costs, it’s completely free to use.
Musitempo also utilised LEA’s free SharkWare software to configure a base profile and push it out to all the pre-staged LEA amplifiers. SharkWare includes amplifier grouping, offline design, granular user access control levels, locked speaker tunings, and a graphical EQ. Additionally, the software enables users to view and adjust channel settings, including input settings, signal generator, crossover, equalizer, limiter, and load monitoring, for all LEA Connect Series amplifiers. With the completion of the retrofit, the resort now has a world-class audio system to match the beauty and grandeur of the property. Resort staff have simple UIs to control everything, like source selection and volume by zone, making their jobs much easier. “Hotel management feels like they’re in the future. That’s the way that they basically describe the way the system works. Now, instead of guest complaints, they’re getting praised,” said Voigt. “LEA was an integral part of the solution. We couldn’t be happier with how the system turned out.”
