The Museum of Spirits, located on the island of Djurgården in central Stockholm, has been fitted with a new Genelec 4000 Series loudspeaker system for the custom-created audio soundtrack and additional multimedia displays.
The museum is housed in two 18th-century naval buildings and is dedicated to Sweden’s relationship with alcohol, covering the history, manufacture and consumption of all kinds of alcoholic drinks, traditions, drinking songs, food and every other kind of drink-related experience. To maximise authenticity, there is also the opportunity to sample various liquors during your visit.
Visitors go on a journey from pain to pleasure, from park bench to cocktail party, based on art, scenery, experience, scents, and tastes. Visitors are able to relax on a park bench, hang in the bar and partake in the pain and pleasure, enjoyment, hangovers, light and dark, warmth and cold all a familiar part of the experience of alcohol. Since 2008 the museum has also been home to the Absolut Art Collection, which consists of 850 works of art created by 550 artists, between the years 1986 and 2004.
Since the idea of the museum is to affect the visitor in a totally immersive way, the audio must be equally clear and precise at both high and low volume levels. Transpond, a Swedish production company specialising in museums and other spaces, worked closely with the museum on making the creative ideas a reality. The client was looking for a versatile audio system that could easily integrate with the museum environment and various exhibits. Key considerations were budget, so value for money was important, as well as maintenance considerations.
Various solutions were considered, including passive system solutions, but Genelec was considered the best value for money. One thing that made Genelec stand apart was the ability for the loudspeakers to run continuously and stably for long periods of time an essential requirement for a popular visitor attraction with long opening hours. The system also stood up to the challenge of the integrating a new audio system into a traditional building. In this respect, Genelec’s wide range of accessories was very useful, especially for optimum mounting and positioning of the speakers on the buildings’ structural wooden beams.
The complete system is controlled with an e:cue iPad interface making it simple and intuitive to use. e:cue software also simplified the programming of scenes, control sequences and system configuration. Media output and playback is via BrightSign network media players.
