Any set of audiophile credentials would be lacking without details of cables, power supply and supports and the Spiritland Barbican set-up doesn’t skimp here. All three set-ups are connected with DHLabs wiring, while a grand total of five(!) Audes Balanced Power Supply units are used, individually feeding the digital front-end, the main system stereo power amps, the bass amps, the turntables and the DJ mixing desk. The electronics are supported on Takeone Grande racks, with stainless-steel uprights and plywood shelving, with additional isolation provided by Kuzma Platis platforms under the turntables, CD transport and SJS power amp. It’s the kind of attention to detail that should make any audiophile purr. To find it in what is, nominally, a club setting is as surprising as it is encouraging.
If you want to hear it in action, this system is employed each day at 5:00pm, to play a complete album, in its entirety.
If all that leaves you looking for something a little more purist, yet another system runs in the bar area, with a Sugden IA-4 integrated amp feeding a pair of Living Voice R80s. It perfectly sums up the versatility demanded of the Spiritland Barbican space, with a requirement to offer everything from quiet but high-quality background music to a full-on club set.
The Spiritland Barbican experience
What should you expect from a visit to the Barbican venue? It’s not a large space, probably accommodating 60 or so guests in comfort. It provides an in-room champagne bar and table-service for food and drinks. Assuming that there isn’t a private or ticketed event, the space offers free entry and is open from 4-11pm, Tuesday to Friday, 12-11pm on Saturday and 12-7pm on Sunday. Reservations ensure a table and can be made online at https://www.barbican.org.uk/your-visit/eat-drink/spiritland-bar
Whether you book tickets for a scheduled talk or presentation, or simply visit with a few friends, this is a very different experience. The convivial atmosphere and the sheer quality of the system(s) ensure that. But what really sets Spiritland Barbican apart – and what suggests it might be rather more successful in reaching out to and generating potential audio customers – is the audience it attracts. Drawn mainly from Barbican visitors, it effectively pre-selects those who already have and invest in, artistic or musical interests. These are classical and contemporary concert goers, those who attend dance, theatre and film. Compared to the average crowd at a hi-fi event, they are far younger (and far better turned out). There’s none of the po-faced fascination with or angst connected to the equipment so prevalent at hi-fi shows. This is all about the performance and the music, the event and the presentation. These people are here for the art, not the engineering, which is something the whole audio industry could learn from.
