Sound with Muscle: Yamaha Brings the Energy to Barry's Fitness Gym, Kuwait

When Barry’s, the global fitness brand known for its high-intensity ‘Red Room’ workouts, opened a new gym in Kuwait, it needed more than just a sound system. It wanted an audio experience that would match the energy, intensity and style of its signature 50 minute sessions. Yamaha provided the sonic muscle.

Founded in 1998, Barry’s has grown from a West Hollywood studio into a global premium fitness brand with a presence in over 20 countries. Known for its signature high intensity interval training, which fuses strength and cardio in exceptional facilities, ensuring the customer is in an exciting and fun environment is a key part of the offering.

While the brand’s reputation for delivering a world class workout experience is well established, replicating that same auditory excellence in a brand new, culturally distinct market presented unique hurdles.

The goal of the installation at the Kuwait facility was to deliver powerful, immersive sound, without disrupting the gym’s sleek design or interfering with the layout of the fitness equipment. This involved into two main challenges:

Firstly, as a premium fitness operator, Barry’s expects its sound system to be as high end as its training methods, its interior finishes and signature lighting. The audio must be powerful enough to fill a large open plan studio with powerful, crystal clear audio, while also being subtle enough during warm up or cool down phases to avoid overwhelming participants.

Secondly, the design team at Barry’s in Kuwait had a clear vision of the desired sonic impact, which was to seamlessly integrate deep bass response and high, distortion-free SPLs into the venue’s smart building infrastructure. The team needed a partner who could translate these aims into a reliable, practical installation.

Yamaha Music Gulf, together with its local partner Adawliah Electronics Co, conducted a comprehensive site analysis and suggested a system based on Yamaha DXR10 mkII powered loudspeakers, paired with DXS15 mkII powered subwoofers, plus VXH6 pendant speakers.

The two way DXR10 mkII is compact, yet capable of delivering 132 dB SPL, while the DXS15 mkII delivers tight, energetic bass as low as 40Hz, with a maximum SPL of 135dB. Together they deliver deep, full-range audio which fills the space, without being visually intrusive – exactly what Barry’s needed for its iconic Red Room fitness studio.

Meanwhile, the gym’s reception area, stretching room and corridor are covered by the VXH6s, whose wide 120° dispersion and 300W power handling are engineered for optimum background music reproduction. They are powered by an XMV4280-D multi-channel power amplifier in high-impedance (100V) mode, with system control by a Yamaha MTX5-D digital signal processor, managed using three MCP1 multimedia control panels and the iPad-based ProVisionaire Control app.

The MTX5-D handles all audio routing and processing, with music streamed directly from two laptops using Dante Virtual Soundcard. There are also two wireless microphones for gym instructors, plus an extra input for other sources via a WiFi router. The digital connection between the processor and amplifier ensures crystal clear sound with minimal interference.

Thanks to the MCP1 panels and ProVisionaire Control, day-to-day control of the system is simple, allowing staff with no technical knowledge to adjust volume and change the sources. Engineers are also able to access the system remotely, solving any issues in minutes.

“The system was designed to hit 100 dB, but during testing it reached 105 dB with ease. It now runs comfortably below 98 dB, giving Barry’s the headroom they need without sacrificing clarity,” says Ahmad Jaber of Adawliah Electronics Co.

“The result is a crystal clear, well balanced soundscape which has transformed the gym atmosphere, making it sound as good as it looks. The system is powerful, reliable and built to keep up with every beat of every workout. This is the first Yamaha installation for the Barry’s franchise, but it won’t be the last.”

“The Yamaha speakers have helped our space drastically by providing a well balanced and high clarity sound throughout the amenity,” adds Amira Moghaddam, the operations manager at Barry’s Kuwait.