The international club reference, Grelle Forelle

Honestly, what do you know as yet about “salmo trutta” or rather, trouts? A tasty edible fish, that not only chose the European rivers and lakes as its haunt and had a fateful encounter with a miller in order to become a fine dish somewhere along the line? Yes, ok. That there are the River trouts and the Lake trouts? OK…? And that the trout belongs to the family of the salmon and reaches an age of eighteen inhabiting the same location? Well, than you might be interested in another still unknown trout, which as of late, stays true to its location Splittelauer Lände 12 at the Danube canal in the middle of Vienna, and swims against the tide: “salmo trutta acerba”, the Grelle Forelle.

Yet, its existence isn’t a secret anymore, hosts of self-appointed ichthyologists, with rhythm in their blood, pilgrim to the established location at late. “How do I get to the Grelle Forelle please”, can be often heard, because although not timid but thin-skinned and all in trout-like manner, the Grelle Forelle indeed don’t utter a peep, at least outside.

“Mostly, it’s just the queue at the entrance, which reveals the club’s location”, says Clemens Jahn, the manager of the Grelle Forelle, and smiles at Wolfgang Sauter from pro performance, in the direction of the exterior wall with its glass tiles, where the tonmeister eavesdrops and nods satisfied. “When the Grelle Forelle was originated, and the idea of a top-class electro club in Vienna assumed shape, we soon were faced certain facts, which should be considered within planning the newly built location”, Clemens Jahn remembers. “Some clubs here in Vienna enjoy a very sweeping, actually an international reputation, mostly based on the installed sound system. Therefore, we wanted to have a sound concept, which could leverage the restrictions of modern sound irradiation, whereas that should not only be true indoors, but due to the protection of local residents, outdoors, too”, the manager tells. “It frequently happens, that a first time visitor doesn’t find the location, as outside there is really nothing you could hear from what is going on insight”.

Large and mighty the freshly hatched trout couches, as due to its dimensions, rather appears to have affiliated with a whale, and fills its stomach with comfortably 1500 guests at weekends. On the bank still as mute as a fish, the first short stop at the wardrobe already reveals much more of the potential the location has, until reaching the first floor, the “Kitchen”, which makes prick up one’s ears. After having a walk through the kitchen, four, one above the other, vertically aligned MF-15A, barely visibly integrated in the sidewall, not only convince through very low and detailed low frequency reproduction down to 35 Hz, but especially through the absolutely uniform sound dispersion.”Two horizontally flown TX-2A, extend the frequency range from 100 Hz to really remarkably coherent frequency-sound pressure levels,” says Wolfgang Sauter, as he crosses the dance floor, “and especially the midrange is extremely sturdy. As stereo DJ-monitoring we use two lying CX-1A, what since then, lead to several product inquiries by artists, for they neither expect such an extraordinary acoustic pattern and sound pressure level from such really tiny speakers. For that reason, one tier lower in the building and seating group next to the passage, the CX-1A transmits the signal, too. Due to the installation of the MF-15A as vertically aligned low frequency line-source, the low frequencies from the “Kitchen” go far anyway. But I think I’ll come back to this issue at the main floor again,” says the acoustician with an astute smile. Good bait for fish.

The main floor. The heart of the trout. With averagely 130 beats per minute, the ichthyologists are confronted with indomitable but even balmy violence, which is the reason, why the whole organism “Grelle Forelle” gets its high pulse rate, which seem to be contagious, as it stirs other’s blood, too. The sound installation got about”, Clemens Jahn rejoices. “Meanwhile, international artists come not just on weekends, but also during the week, even to visit the empty club to test their newest productions. I think this speaks for itself and approves, that we made the right decision with Lambda Labs and Mr. Wolfgang Sauter from pro performance, and broke fresh ground”, remarks Clemens Jahn, and hands over to the moderator, who visibly declares himself satisfied with the installation. “From the start, the low frequency foundation on the 12x30 meters ample main floor was intended with the newly developed Doppelwellenhörner, DW-15. With this extremely precise definition and a low frequency sound reproduction range from under 30 Hz up to 200 Hz, this installation reaches exceedingly full deep bass with simultaneously hard kicks, which is why this sound solution is as famous as it is by now. “What often causes stir amongst the professional audience during presentations…” Wolfgang Sauter describes the acoustic situation. “Despite the 3 meters long horn geometry the compact enclosure of the DW-15 has a volume of only less than 500 liters. For me as project manager, this incredibly high output/volume ratio really had been pathbreaking, for this dimensions were more than just beneficial incorporating them compactly into a particularly installed concrete wall, and therefore having an absolutely reverberative front wall on the main floor left and right close beside the DJ’s booth. Eight Doppelwellenhörner were incorporated creating two vertical bass arrays, each consisting of four equidistant aligned subs one above the other. Due to this special mounting situation of the horn subs, the radiation impedance of the 15" woofer further increases, and a single, just forward-facing cylindrical wave, is created. Since the DW-15 operate there with reverberant floor and ceiling, they generate an acoustically endlessly long line source, which features a sound pressure level decline of only 3 dB per meter and doubling of the distance, and shows no distance-depending junction to the far field. The result is a very wide, supremely uniform and forceful irradiation all the way into the back rows. One, on the end of the main floor installed and one meter deep bass trap finally absorbs all reflections, in order to maximize the direct sound ratio and to reach an impulse response, which one would only expect from an open air irradiation situation.

Altogether, 22 Lambda Labs loudspeakers were installed in the Grelle Forelle. And according to Wolfgang Sauter’s plan, there will even be more, soon. “The DJs on the main floor listen to their signal from 2 TX-2A and currently 2 MF-15A. Although this is an over and over lauded solution, the MF-15 takes up room standing on the floor. A horizontal bass array, out of six closed-box subwoofers, one of Lambda Lab’s current developing, is installed directly in front of the DJs. This will further enhance the acoustic situation, and due to the special alignment, most notably don’t excite any horizontal room modes and deliver even superiorly precise impulses than now”.

At the end, there remains just one ichthyological issue to raise. You ever tried trout with goose pimples? Well, perhaps try Grelle Forelle in the Trentemøller style…