Café d’Anvers

“The dancefloor must be almost overwhelming; you want to feel it’s just you and the music. At the bar, you want to be able to talk, but you still want to be in the music, the club, to be tempted to dance.”
Pim de Rhoodes Owner Café D’Anvers

Café D’Anvers opened its doors in 1989 and has been a mecca for savvy clubbers ever since. Occupying a 16th century church in the heart of Antwerp’s built-up red light district, the 1000 capacity club has two rooms – the main room and a balcony dancefloor – with regular DJ slots from Luciano, Nic Fanciulli and veteran Sven Vath.

But Café D’Anvers had a long-standing problem: finding a sound system that could deliver a true club sound without disturbing the venue’s many neighbours. As owner Pim de Rhoodes explains:“We had to limit the volume and bass, which wasn’t great for the atmosphere. We couldn’t do too much soundproofing because these old walls are part of the special character of the place.

The team wanted a sound system that would bathe customers in music throughout the venue. They wanted a powerful bass and exhilarating highs on the dancefloor. And they wanted that sound quality to continue in the bar, letting people talk comfortably and galvanising them to dance.

In the quest for the best, the team flew to Ibiza to experience Pioneer Pro Audio and Powersoft’s flagship set-up at Booom! Impressed by the system, they commissioned the team to design a sound system for Café D’Anvers. However, after 26 years and numerous sound systems, de Rhoodes was still sceptical.
“I thought: it’s an amazing sound system, but we can’t make that much bass here, with our neighbours. Or can we?”

“It’s amazing, it really is. The sound is 100 per cent better. It’s like you’re inside the music. It’s not just the deep bass; you’ve got all the sounds surrounding you.”
Pim de Rhoodes Owner Café D’Anvers

The GS-WAVE and XY Series work in harmony to create an immersive sound with a deep bass concentrated on the dancefloor. The energy continues into the bar area to draw clubbers into the main floor, but lets them hold a comfortable conversation too.

The Armonía Pro software gives the club full control of the system from a laptop or tablet, so the manager can adjust the volume or EQ settings throughout the night – which helps contain the sound as necessary.

Owner de Rhoodes’ concerns about installing such a powerful system have now disappeared. “Alex and the team knew exactly what they were doing. They measured all the frequencies and made it work. Now the music is through the roof and the neighbours aren’t complaining,” he says.