Project Overview

The Bloc in Downtown Los Angeles features a uniquely retrofitted audio system designed to provide consistent, high-quality sound throughout the property. The system incorporates Bose Professional column array speakers, surface-mount speakers, and pendant speakers strategically installed throughout the breezeways and common areas.

In the lower-level common spaces, Bose column array speakers were selected for their wide horizontal dispersion characteristics. This technology delivers an even front-to-back sound field, ensuring that audio remains balanced throughout the area—without being overly loud for listeners nearby or too quiet for those farther away. The result is a consistent and enjoyable listening experience across the entire space, both side-to-side and near-to-far.

For the interior and exterior breezeways, pendant speakers were evenly spaced to provide smooth audio coverage while minimizing reflections from the hard overhead surfaces. This approach creates clear, intelligible sound and enhances the overall ambiance of these transitional spaces.

The system also includes seasonal programming, allowing holiday music to be automatically scheduled and played during special times of the year, further enhancing the guest experience.

The Bloc is 1.8 million square feet of retail space in a unique part of downtown Los Angeles that really transformed a neighborhood. Being able to design this commercial audio system for this complicated retail environment allowed us to specify and deploy the right product mix for various applications in the shopping center.

Other equipment used to process the sound at the central equipment rack hidden in an IT closet was a Symetrix DSP processor and Bose Professional Amplifiers. The end user can simply go to a Symetrix wall keypad and raise of lower digital volumes by zone.