The Big Romance is an audiophile pub on Parnell Street in Dublin, described by the owner as a dive bar meets listening bar. The collective record collection lives in the bar, staff play records throughout the day, and the room stays deliberately music-forward without becoming formal or stiff.
The sound system is a Hatchett Sound ROM1 setup built for low distortion, clarity, and a huge hi-fi listening experience. The bar speakers are an active 3-way Hatchett Sound design with Hypex class D plate amplification/DSP and Faital Pro drivers, while the main speakers draw on a Troels Gravesen design and the large vintage monitors found in high-end recording studios, particularly the JBL 43 series.
The main cabinets use Hypex plate amplifiers, large handmade passive crossovers with Jantzen Audio components, BMS drivers on bass duty, 18sound for mids and tops, and Fostex super tweeters for the top-end sparkle. The DJ console is built around a MasterSounds Radius 4 rotary mixer and TPI MasterSounds TRBxM turntable isolation, with the stated aim of keeping the vinyl signal clean from record to speaker.
