Culture

The sound of a good time with Pitt & Giblin

We talk to Ross Giblin about adding to a great bar experience through sound, rather than detracting from it.

Thomas WilliamsJuly 1, 2024

In a bar, creating the right atmosphere goes beyond serving great drinks. And the places that do this best embrace the challenge of engaging every one of the senses—including sound. Pitt & Giblin, renowned for their speakers which are handmade in Tasmania, Australia understand this well.

Their loudspeakers, which are most likely sitting pretty in one of your favourite bars or restaurants, look as lush as they sound. A particular design feature of many of their products is the bronze waveguide, which creates a distinct hand-crafted look and a tonally consistent, natural sound anywhere in the room in which they are placed.

We talked to Ross Giblin about the journey behind the brand and how they're helping make memorable experiences through audio.

Measured: Can you tell us a little bit about Pitt & Giblin?

Ross Giblin: We’re a small batch loudspeaker manufacturing business concentrating on accessible, but high-end audio design. So when I say accessible our products are the active loudspeakers I guess from a consumer standpoint. They're kind of more plug-and-play than what traditional Hi-Fi is.

How did the idea for this type of sound system come about?

Jack and I've been collaborating for over 15 years. Jack is a mechanical engineer, and our acoustic engineer, and previously I've been all sorts of things, including an art student studying industrial design. I've always been hands-on in the design world and we've both practiced photography professionally as well.

I was brand managing a craft brewery and it gave me a good insight into a kind of value proposition, and we saw a little bit of a gap in the market.

We were always playing with all these ideas and trying to figure out how to package it all together into something that was well considered.

Photography courtesy of Pitt & Giblin

For the benefit of the reader that's not necessarily familiar, can you elaborate on active versus passive speakers and what that means?

In a traditional Hi-Fi system, there's discrete components that form the signal chain for the amplification of music.

In our product we've done away with the source selector, the volume control and the power amplifiers and we put them all into the speaker. And what this means at a practical level is that in your room, you just need to plug each speaker into its own power. And provide a signal.

What’s unique about the Pitt & Giblin sound?

The product is very capable. And when I say capable, it sounds good, it goes loud, it plays deep. It doesn't require subwoofers and integrates into a room; the result is that they sound good at all listening levels.

Why do you think so many bars, restaurants and cafes have embraced your products?

I think that the drivers for the hospitality are good music and also the space looking good. In terms of getting speakers into the space, the implementation is something that we work with all our clients, one-on-one. On all of our projects there's acoustic advice and treatment specifications. We make sure that the acoustics are right and if it isn't then we provide a design solution.

And then again, it goes back to the benefits of the product itself, in that it is a high output, plug-and-play.

What impact do you believe sound has on a space?

I think it's about enabling more opportunity for enjoyment. So when Jack and I walk into any space, not necessarily one of our installations, it's always an immediate assessment of what it feels like.

The music isn't necessarily always the experience, but you are very rarely in a space where you can't hear any. We strive to make sure that it's as good as it can be so that there's nothing in the way of you having a good time.