Audio consultant Chris Gunton of CGA Integration will show you a photograph of the 16th century dining room at the Great Fosters Hotel, and challenge you to spot the loudspeakers he has installed there. Artfully tucked away in the great oak beams in the vaulted ceiling are Electro-Voice S40s, customized to blend into near-invisibility.

Gracing an estate of more than 50 acres in what was once the heart of Royal Windsor Forest in Surrey, Great Fosters is the most distinguished of hotels–a Grade One listed building combining 16th century grandeur and luxurious modern facilities.

The Oak Room at Great Fosters is a prestigious dining venue, priding itself on personal service, quality of finish, attention to detail and inspired gourmet food. Background audio was required to enhance atmosphere and mask the general noise from nearby corridors. The installation and audio quality had to match or exceed these top-flight values, and add an extra dimension to the dining experience.

“We had to run hidden cables to ultra low-profile speakers,” Gunton says, “so we chose proven models from the adaptable EV range–S-40 monitors that offer the twin qualities of exceptional sound performance and unobtrusive aesthetics, which were then customized to blend with the oak beams of the interior. These now provide consistent, clear classical and light jazz soundtracks from a hard-drive music player, processed by tuned amps with simple breakout controls. The control equipment was neatly positioned inside a cabinet, which also required imaginative cable runs.”

Richard Young, Great Fosters General Manager, was quick to notice the difference. “It‘s a complete change and sounds very impressive. The installation is neat and efficient and the quality maintains the standard of ambience we were aiming for.”