Zlatý Strom, a legendary bar, restaurant and music club venue located close to Prague’s famous Charles Bridge, has held an iconic position as a nightlife hotspot in the city for over 30 years.
Its multi-storey interior features restaurant, bar, and lounge spaces, some of which lie partly within the building’s centuries-old cellars.
While visually striking, the layout presents significant challenges for any modern AV installation, particularly one required to shift seamlessly between refined weekday ambience and energetic weekend programming.
In a transformation which took two years, the venue sought to move away from its previous identity as a dance club and instead establish a multifunctional environment in which sound plays a central role in shaping the customer experience.
The existing audio system had reached the end of its service life, and a new approach that could support both subtle background sound and high-performance output was required.
Precise zoning, with the ability to combine or isolate areas, adjust volume independently, and switch sources according to time of day or operational needs was another key aspect of the brief.
An intuitive control interface was essential to ensure the system matched the venue’s working practices.
For an installation of this complexity, FORSOUND’s system designer Lukáš Sekera was engaged to deliver a flexible, modern solution capable of responding to the venue’s evolving operational model.
The historical structure of Zlatý Strom created one of the primary technical challenges.
Its segmented spaces and cellar locations complicated the deployment of AV technology and demanded an audio system that could adapt to the venue’s geometry while remaining unobtrusive within its protected interior.
All amplifiers needed to be installed in a separate technical environment, with reliable communication across the building and dependable operational stability throughout the venue’s long service hours.
Powersoft’s Unica platform provided a solution that addressed these constraints directly. All communication between devices, including audio sources, is handled via Dante, and the Unica amplifiers are redundantly powered via PoE to guarantee continuous online availability.
Their power stages are activated only during the operating hours of the relevant venue zones, managed through programmed PLC switching.
This approach not only aligns with the variable nature of Zlatý Strom’s daily operations but also ensures that energy usage remains tightly controlled.
By coupling Unica with Powersoft’s Dynamic Music Distribution (DMD) and WM Touch panels, FORSOUND was able to eliminate the need for traditional matrix processors, despite the complex multi-zone configuration.
It also ensured system redundancy and made future expansion straightforward, something the venue is already preparing for as it renovates further spaces.
The result is a scalable, distributed system that can evolve organically without requiring significant reprogramming or additional processing hardware.
The shift to Powersoft technology resolved several limitations of the previous installation, which relied on DSP processors and fixed wired controllers.
As Lukáš Sekera at FORSOUND suggested: “With DMD, audio distribution no longer depends on a central matrix, and system control can be achieved through the web interfaces of common smart touch devices.
“This gives managers and staff more flexibility and enables adjustments to be made directly within individual zones, which is an important advantage in a venue where atmosphere must be constantly fine-tuned across different areas.”
Operational efficiency has also been vastly improved, with Powersoft now offering double the number of channels whilst occupying only a third of the previous rack space, comfortably accommodated in the venue’s cramped technical room.
The reduced demand on external cooling brings further energy savings. Additional efficiencies come from Unica’s ability to power down amplifier stages independently, complementing the platform’s inherently lower energy consumption.
For the integrator, cloud-based monitoring and remote management provide continuous access to operational data, ensuring long-term reliability and simplifying maintenance.
The set up is completed with 36 EAW speakers spread across zones throughout the venue in the following configuration: four EAW MKD826 for the dancefloor; 10 MKC50 covering adjacent spaces; and two MKC50 as DJ monitors.
Four MKD896 are located at the strip, with two EAW MKC50 and two EAW MKC60 in surrounding areas. The entrance and upper restaurant are covered by 12 EAW MKC50.
For the team at Zlatý Strom, the completed installation has delivered precisely the adaptable audio environment they sought.
The venue’s atmosphere changes throughout the day and week, shaped by differing clientele and functions, and the system now supports these transitions with ease.
Sound can be tailored to each area to create the appropriate ambience, contributing directly to the overall customer experience.
The team reports being very satisfied with the result, noting both the simplicity of operation and the system’s readiness for future expansion should the venue’s needs grow further.
