San Diego Steakhouse Conceals Subs in Banquettes

Born & Raised refreshed its audio during a design update. The 200- to 250-seat steakhouse runs music from background jazz to higher-energy sets, and the old system no longer matched the room. Installers had to keep every loudspeaker out of sight while still delivering consistent levels at every table and on the roof deck. Cable paths and concealment drove most decisions. Runs had to thread through existing millwork without adding new chase walls or ceiling access points that would show later.

Furniture Integration for Low End

SUB28 cabinets sit inside banquet seating and custom banquettes. That placement removes floor-standing enclosures from the dining floor but forces the tech to coordinate dimensions with the millwork shop before anything ships. One mis-measure and the grille either sits proud or the cabinet won't fit at all. The team ordered the enclosures with rear-panel access plates so a single technician can reach the drivers after the seating is bolted down. The same approach repeats on the rooftop with WSUB45 units. Marine-grade enclosures handle weather exposure, yet the mounting still requires drain paths and access panels for service at 2 a.m. when a driver fails. Installers added 3/8-inch weep holes at the lowest point of each cabinet and routed them to scuppers already present in the deck structure.

Zone Coverage Without Overlap Cannon

C6i units ring the main dining room. Level

L35 units drop into the ceiling grid for center fill. The layout keeps levels even whether a guest sits at the bar or in a corner booth. Caneno Systems tuned the zones so staff can raise the rooftop independently without feeding bleed back into the interior rooms. Cannon C6 Marine loudspeakers handle the outdoor deck. Salt air and temperature swings matter more than raw SPL here; the marine treatment reduces corrosion points that normally show up after one summer season. Each outdoor unit received a short length of 14 AWG tinned marine cable terminated with heat-shrink butt splices before the final connection to the weatherproof junction box.

Amplifier Placement and Heat Management All amplification lives in

a repurposed coat closet off the service corridor. Two Lab.gruppen D 80:4L units sit on a 2RU vented shelf with 1-inch clearance above and below. The integrator cut a 6-inch round duct into the back wall that ties into the kitchen exhaust chase, pulling warm air away from the chassis without visible grilles in the dining area. During commissioning, the crew ran both amplifiers at -6 dB below clip for 45 minutes while monitoring case temperature with an infrared thermometer; peak readings stayed under 48 °C.

Retrofit Realities

The project reused some existing conduit but added short home runs for the new distributed feeds. That kept the rack footprint small and avoided pulling new bundles through tight ceiling cavities. Custom grille finishes matched the Basile Studio palette so the loudspeakers read as part of the architecture rather than added equipment. - Verify furniture CAD files against subwoofer dimensions before ordering grilles

• Leave service loops at each marine speaker for driver swaps without full removal - Map zone overlap with a single measurement mic before final DSP upload After the initial DSP file loaded, the lead tech walked every seat with a calibrated handheld meter, logging slow-average SPL at ear height. One booth had shifted two inches during final millwork, creating a 4 dB peak at 80 Hz; the fix required only a 2 dB cut on that sub zone rather than a full re-measure. The same walk-through confirmed that rooftop zones could reach 98 dB before any measurable spill reached the bar area. Check sub placement against final seating layouts on site, not just drawings. One booth shift can turn a clean low-end zone into a hot spot that guests notice during quiet service. Service loops and rear access plates proved their value the first week when a rooftop driver needed replacement during dinner service; the entire swap took twelve minutes with no visible disturbance to diners.