Hard Rock Hotel, EPIC Pool System
The Ascend team was so excited to work with our friends again at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort!
For this project, we completely gutted and updated the original control system while strategically laying the groundwork for future infrastructure expansion. Also, we installed some amazing speakers at the pool that are so on brand for this music-centric hotel!
See DetailsSummary
We worked closely with our contacts at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort to design their dream audio and control system. This was such a fun and challenging project for both the Ascend System Engineers and the hotel’s Electrical and Engineering teams!
Out with the Old
The system we removed and upgraded had been in place since the hotel opened in the year 2000. Needless to say, there was a lot of room for improvement! There were also a ton of mysteries to solve once we began dismantling connections that had been in place for 20 years. We love a challenge! And we loved collaborating closely with the hotel teams to pivot to new strategies as we went through installation. Everything came together and the hotel staff is overjoyed to have the old, analog system removed and upgraded to a new digital system!
In with the New
The new system utilizes fiberoptic cable as its backbone for lightning fast processing speeds and reliability! Tons of careful planning went into strategically updating their old infrastructure and recommending extra fiber cable pulls to allow for future expansions over the next decade. We upgraded all of the grounds landscape speakers with killer Soundtube speakers that blend in nicely with the bright Florida greens.
A big addition is the new audio zone at the sand volleyball court. Previously, there were no speakers at this section of the pool. We chose directional speakers to fill the entire court with crystal clear sound and heavy bass with (4) buried subwoofers. This court really bumps now! Guests can enjoy a real party atmosphere during their volleyball game and feel like they are in their own world!
The most noticeable update we made was at the Hard Rock Hotel Beach Club – the bar & grill zone and centerpiece of the pool. This is where guests walk up for drinks and to refuel with food after hours swimming and lounging in the sun. This is also where the hotel sets up DJ’s and live music for special events. They had previously been using portable speakers for those events. No more! We designed an amazing system using high quality speakers and subwoofers by K-array, a designer audio brand from Italy. They make beautiful products that have superb sound quality! The old JBL speakers were replaced with two line arrays and subwoofers that fill the entire pool deck with massive bass. These things really bump!!
We invite you to check out the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort during your next trip to Orlando!
Details
Hardware
Control System
- Q-SYS Control Processor with incredible processing power!
- Rack-Mounted Touch Panel
- New Touch Panels in High Traffic Areas
- New Amplifiers with Real Time Diagnostic Notifications
- Condensed the existing rack equipment by one full rack of old amps!
Pool Audio
- Powerful K-array Line Array (4) & Subwoofers (4) at the Beach Club pool bar & grill
- Updated Landscape Speakers spread throughout the pool grounds
- New Technology! Data-Enabled Speakers at each private Cabana (15) – no audio cables!
- New Feature! Fiberoptic cables and network configuration to allow staff to control the sound at each Cabana from the touch panel
- New Audio Zone! Directional Speakers (12) & Buried Subwoofers (4) at the Beach Volleyball Court
- New Feature! XLR Inputs for Live Musicians to tie into the Main Pool Audio System