Danny Meyer, best-selling author and co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, understands the immense value that music adds to the atmosphere of the dining experience.

This awareness, of course, helped make Renkus-Heinz the perfect choice in sound reinforcement for this upscale establishment of fine French/American dining on two tiers. Eleven Madison Park is in a landmark art deco building with soaring 35-foot ceilings which presented a hurdle when it came to attaining intelligible sound. The additional challenge came in the form of maintaining the beauty of the architecture in this historic building without obtrusive boxes impeding the splendor of the space.

Iconyx steerable array systems provided the perfect solution to this sound dilemma. Not only do these systems provide seamless architectural integration, but the sound quality is truly amazing. Because of the steerable technology, Eleven Madison Park customers that might be seated near one of the speaker systems are able to dine peacefully as the sound can be steered precisely where required, eliminating the possibility of sound intruding upon this delightful culinary affair.

Operators, the Union Square Hospitality Group, called in consultant Steve Sockey at SIA Acoustics to design and specify a system, who comments: “This is a very prestigious restaurant and the owners wanted an audio solution that would match the elegance of the surroundings.” Manhattan Wiring installed the system.

Surreptitiously tucked behind the sheer white curtains that adorn the windows, the two tall, slender Iconyx IC16 columns – controlled via a Soundweb 3088i – virtually disappear into the architecture. Sound sources are an iMac running Apple’s iTunes and wired microphones.

Because the loudspeakers are designed to be heard and not seen, so when the managers of Eleven Madison Park entered the restaurant following the sound system installation and heard the music for the first time, their first question was “wow, sounds great, but where are the speakers?”. And that’s precisely how the nature of sound was intended – cherished unseen.

In addition to a phenomenal sound experience, Eleven Madison Park presents a delectable menu that can be viewed online at their website www.elevenmadisonpark.com. They also offer an intimate wine bar featuring 35 wines by the glass. A second floor private dining room is available for special occasions, too. Both floors offer magnificent views of Madison Square Park through 20-foot windows for a truly elegant dining encounter.