For 10 years, San Francisco club Mighty has hosted a lineup of what the owner Sean Manchester calls “the top touring DJs in the world.” Yet the club’s sound system didn’t always live up to its stellar track record for attracting DJ talent. “When we first took over the club in 2006 it had probably the worst reputation for sound in the city,” Manchester said.
As part of an overall remodel, Mighty hired JK Sound in March 2013 to revamp the 5,500 sq. ft. club’s audio. “All directions were leading to the new Avalon,” said Bradley Katz, JK’s audio specialist. “I’d been working with the EAW QX series, which uses the same high-mid they’re using in the Avalon. I’m a firm believer in their high-mid, so Avalon was a no-brainer for me.”
Katz flew four Avalon Club.two cabinets in a laser-measured perfect square around Mighty’s dancefloor. While Mighty’s DJs and patrons love the Avalon sound, that’s not the cabinets’ only benefit. “They’re gorgeous,” Manchester said, “and one cabinet replaces stacks that took up a big chunk of floor space. That’s opened up sight lines all around the room. It’s a much more appealing space now for our regular dance nights, but also for our corporate events during the week.”
Ironically, Mighty’s old sound system was a legendary Richard Long & Associates (RLA) rig, but Katz said it was installed improperly, and by the time that six of its eight subwoofer units blew out, he was able to replace the whole sub stack with two Avalon Sub.two cabinets. Later, JK delivered an even more spine-shaking bass to Mighty’s dancefloor with six Avalon Sub.two cabinets stacked horizontally in two columns. “I don’t think anyone’s done this configuration of subs before,” Katz said. “Subs should be felt almost as much as they should be heard, and here you’ll definitely feel your shirts and pants move.”
Now, Manchester isn’t worried about his investments with the Avalon system filling the room running at only about 50 percent of its power. “I think this system’s probably bulletproof now,” he said.
Best of all, in just eight months after installing its Avalon sound system, Manchester said Mighty is recognized as one of the best-sounding clubs in San Francisco, earning a 2014 Nitey Award nomination for Best Venue Sound. “We’ve gone from the absolute bottom to the pinnacle,” he said.
