Allen & Heath AHM Makes Things Easy for Cornerstone Tavern

Cornerstone Tavern in Raleigh, North Carolina is a unique bar and music venue, made up of three separate houses connected by a large shared patio. The communal patio space can be separated or combined using a central bar area.

In the years before their recent audio upgrade, Cornerstone was utilizing separate analog processors for audio distribution at each of the three respective houses. “The system got complicated and overwhelming,” noted Scott Carneval, integrator and designer with Precision Audio in Raleigh. “There was buzz, among other issues. One of the old processors died and couldn’t be replaced. Allen & Heath’s AHM platform was the perfect replacement.”

All houses are now networked together, each controlling their own front patio, a side patio, and the indoor sound, in addition to the back patio. Up to five DJs can perform simultaneously on the property, with each zone choosing which DJ they’d like to listen to. A standard music streaming device is also an available option for listening, along with one of eight television feeds.

A 64×64 Allen & Heath AHM-64 processor is at the heart of the upgraded audio system, with an AR2412 I/O expander in one house, and an AR84 in another, allowing for plug-and-play distributed inputs and outputs for DJs and TV feeds.

The team at Precision Audio also built a custom application for the end users to control and manage their audio system using Allen & Heath’s free Custom Control platform. Custom Control allows for installers to design tailored applications using an intuitive drag-and-drop editing software. The custom application can then easily be loaded up on any Android, iOS, Windows, or MacOS device – as well as pre-configured Allen & Heath CC touch panels.

Precision Audio built Cornerstone Tavern a simple layout: source selectors for each zone to choose which DJ, music server, or local TV they’d like to listen to – along with respective volume control. The staff can quickly log in, choose the house they’re wanting to make an adjustment to, pick the patio or area, and make the change.

“Building out the iPad and iPhone apps was straightforward and easy, it just works,” noted Carneval. “We were hesitant to pass digital audio from one building to another, but the system is rock solid. They’ve had no issues and no support calls since the integration.”