Jesamondo Salon & Spa in Natick, Massachusetts, recently installed a Genelec Smart IP loudspeaker audio system in a building that accommodates 40 hairstylists, aestheticians, nail technicians, massage therapists, make-up artists, a reiki master and more. The system includes 22 Genelec 4435A Smart IP Dante-enabled active in-ceiling speakers, blending into Jesamondo’s chic aesthetic and serving the many distinct spaces.
There are two speakers in the reception area, one in each of two bathrooms off reception, two in the nail room, seven in the salon, two in the shampoo room, one in each of four individual spas, and one in each for a spa bathroom, the spa lobby and the hallway outside the spa rooms. Additionally, on-wall dials leveraging Q-SYS automation systems offer zone management, individual speaker muting, and overall control.
Prior to the renovation, Traiger relied on a single Pandora feed to populate all the music for the entire facility, which occasionally created a dissonance between the needs for the salon compared to the more subdued spaces. Now, they have four different Pandora feeds, fully routable to any room, to make sure that each space can dial in just the right vibe.
Zachary Lacroix, system engineer at frequent Genelec integrator partner Parsons Audio, said: “The benefit you get with using an IP system is that each speaker is individually addressable. So, you can change the routing… you can change the grouping down the road if you need to. It’s not all tied together on one cable.”
The installation took place because Genelec senior technical sales manager Paul Stewart is himself a longtime patron of Jesamondo, relying on their talented stylists to maintain his signature coif. Several months ago, his stylist Marisol mentioned plans for an upcoming major renovation involving all-new floors, ceilings, hair stations and spa rooms, and Stewart brought up Genelec as a good audio choice for such a makeover.
Traiger was open to any great ideas for the renovation. “I chatted with Paul,” Traiger recalled. “And then, an hour later, I’m at Genelec’s Experience Center, in Natick, and he’s showing me and testing everything. He just turned on the Genelec speakers, and it took half a second to tell a distinct difference from the sound system we had. The quality of the sound was just like night and day, and I said ‘Let’s do this!’.”
Stewart then connected Traiger with Zachary Lacroix at Parsons Audio. Traiger’s vision included being able to “dial in a festive mood” for the salon’s mimosa-sipping patrons, matched with a much more relaxed/tranquil vibe in the nail room, spas and shampoo room.
Traiger concluded: “There was nothing that wasn’t done to perfection. Walking into here now is the same as walking into that five-star hotel spa retreat…that five-star hotel salon retreat. That’s what we’ve created here. And it wouldn’t have been possible without the Genelec sound system.”
