An immersive experience — that’s the vision of Flywheel, which has been expanding fast since its launch in 2010.
Growing from one indoor cycling gym in NYC’s Flatiron district to dozens of locations worldwide in just a few years requires getting a lot of things right. For Flywheel, performance personalization is at the core of a workout – one that goes next-level when riders are surrounded by killer sound.
“Music is huge for us — it defines our product and differentiates us from our competitors,” says Oscar Madrigal, Senior Director of Tech and R&D for Flywheel. “At Flywheel, audio drives the workout. Our instructors ride and teach to the beat of the music, so having high-impact sound is essential.”
Flywheel chose Criterion Acoustics to design the audio systems for its stadium-style facilities in Brooklyn, Santa Monica, San Francisco, Scottsdale, and Denver. Criterion Acoustics president Dave Kotch oversaw a comprehensive signal path of L-Acoustics loudspeakers, amplifiers and processing controls that would elevate Flywheel’s reputation for aural motivational.
“In addition to high-quality, full-range music, vocal intelligibility is key — the instructor’s vocals have to come through loud and clear,” Madrigal says. “Criterion Acoustics specified a system that helped warm up the sound of the microphone, and make it sound more rich and dynamic. That changed the game for us.
“Criterion Acoustics has consistently gone above and beyond for Flywheel to get us a system that performed the way we wanted. They oversaw a shootout with several loudspeaker manufacturers in a side-by-side comparison for our instructors and staff, guiding us through the whole selection process.”
Armed with their superior audio environment, Flywheel is rising above the noise in personal fitness. “A great sound system drives the ride,” Madrigal states. “Criterion Acoustics’ attention to detail, willingness to spend time with Flywheel, and get to know our product has made a huge difference to us.”