Remind you of somewhere you’ve been before? Deja Brew, a premium Indian restaurant and bar situated in the stylish district of M Block Market in Greater Kailash 2, New Delhi, demands attention with its memorable name. Backed up with high-quality food, a multitude of brews and five-star service to match, the location has quickly gained popularity. The venue is the brainchild of Naveen Sachdeva, the founder of Cherish Hospitality, along with Parth Chadha and Aashish Goyal. The trio has created a concept that is already a favorite spot for many, much like their popular brand, Ministry of Beer. In keeping with the upmarket feel of the new venue, Deja Brew required a compact sound system to match. They chose Genelec.

With a full house, Deja Brew seats 80 people across two stories, with seating areas distributed in small, intimate pockets. “In opening a hybrid brew lounge, we needed a sound system with good tonal quality and great bass. However, due to space constraints, we were unable to install a subwoofer,” said Sachdeva. “It was at this point that Sandeep Duggal at Value Marketing Systems (VMS) Delhi, who has over two decades of experience designing and installing sound systems, suggested Genelec.”

After visiting VMS’s dedicated demo facility and sampling the Genelec sound for themselves, Deja Brew opted for a selection of 4030 loudspeakers, favored for their compact size and active design. In total, thirteen 4,030 loudspeakers were provided by Genelec’s partner Alphatec AV, the largest distributor of AV equipment on the sub-continent, and installed by VMS.

“It became clear at the launch party, where almost 200 people were dancing to the music, that we had made the right decision,” said Sachdeva. “We’re extremely pleased with the sound quality and distinctive appearance of the loudspeakers. Sandeep’s sound design and after-sales service have been excellent!”

Duggal, who is the owner and technical head at VMS, explains the motivations behind the purchase. “We’ve worked hard to cultivate an energetic vibe at Deja Brew, but where customers can freely converse and relax. It was vital that customers could hear one another over the music. Genelec is well known for having an incredibly clean audio signature, offering unrivaled clarity and intelligibility irrespective of playback level. Taking this into consideration, opting for the 4030s was a no-brainer.”

The 4030s are distributed across both floors to achieve even coverage in every section of the restaurant, with no hot spots or dead zones. One factor in the decision was Genelec’s active design, which eliminates the need for external amplifiers, instead allowing the VMS team to run a reduced amount of cabling back to a single, centralized music processor. This is connected to a media player to allow staff to play whatever music they wish, with the additional option of pairing their own devices.

Projects of this size are where the 4030 model comes into its own, delivering high-fidelity sound with balanced and precise bass reproduction, even at low SPLs, yet with sufficient power and headroom to accommodate much higher levels for events or functions. However, the default level has been optimized to promote a healthy level of conversation while playing background music.

The 4030’s small form factor and the range of mounting accessories enabled VMS to integrate the loudspeakers with the interior layout. “Alongside the wide range of RAL colors that Genelec offers, we noticed that the 4030s were also available in the RAW recycled aluminum finish, which is kinder to the environment as the models require no painting and less finishing material,” said Sachdeva. The team agreed that this design also suited Deja Brew’s aesthetic, which balances an open industrial theme blended with traditional wooden, rustic tones, courtesy of Orphic Design Studio.

“We work to reduce our carbon footprint however we can, so if we do so whilst matching our interior, that’s a bonus,” said Sachdeeva. “It’s as if this model was designed specifically for Deja Brew, and we have Genelec’s comprehensive portfolio to thank for that, as well as Sandeep from VMS, who helped us navigate it professionally.”