Amsterdam venue The Other Side becomes world’s first nightclub to adopt L-ISA Spatial Audio

The spatial tech is said to “wrap the audience in a 360-degree auditory experience”

Amsterdam-based venue The Other Side is now the world’s first nightclub to adopt L-ISA Spatial Audio.

The Other Side is a former bicycle workshop that’s been transformed into a nightclub as well as a record label and agency representing DJs and producers. Its main, 900-capacity room utilises a fully immersive 14.1.5 L-ISA configuration “designed to wrap the audience in a 360-degree auditory experience”.

Doeshka Vrede and Jasper Löwik, the duo who own and manage the club, are also both producers, musicians, and artist managers. Vrede says that with a club like this one, “the main product has to be sound”. The pair teamed up with Stefan Liem, a sound engineer and spatial audio expert already familiar with L-ISA spatial technology, to bring their vision to life.

According to a press release, Liem worked with Netherlands-based L-Acoustics Certified Provider, Audio Solvation, and designed a 5.1 Scene system consisting of one A15 Focus and one A15 Wide per hang.

Nine X12 coaxial enclosures provide surround sound, three each on the left, right, and back walls. Five further X12 are placed in the ceiling for overhead sound. Two stacks of four KS21 subwoofers are placed on either side of the stage for low-end extension, and two X8 coaxials are situated near the DJ booth for front-fill. The system is powered by one LA7.16i and five LA4X amplified controllers.

Visiting DJs can choose how they wish to use the technology – they can perform in stereo using L-ISA Stereo Mapper functionality, or they can delve into full immersive capacities with Liem’s guidance.

“L-ISA is amazing,” says Liem. “It was really important for The Other Side to be at the forefront of technology, to bring new experiences to our audience, and to have a high level of involvement from the artists who want to use it. All the right assets were there to get this whole project moving, and L-ISA has been much more stable than other immersive technologies that I’ve worked with. We needed everything to work seamlessly, and L-ISA does that.”

Vrede adds, “Since opening in November, we’ve created a big buzz. Many people talk about the sound system being the best in Amsterdam. It’s a new experience for both the audience and the performers. Everyone is excited to be a part of it,” she concludes.