Genelec has been selected to deliver the audio system for Miru NYC, a new high-end Japanese dining and listening venue from the City Winery team, located on the rooftop of Pier 57 on Manhattan’s West Side.
Designed as a modern interpretation of Japan’s audiophile listening bars, Miru NYC combines refined cuisine with a strong focus on sound quality, treating audio as a core part of the guest experience rather than background enhancement. The venue opened in September 2025 and spans more than 550 sq m, offering 360-degree views across the Hudson Yards, Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty and the New Jersey skyline.
To realise the concept, City Winery worked with systems integrator AVLX to design and install a large-format Genelec monitoring system more commonly associated with studio environments. The installation includes Genelec 1236A and 1234AC models, supported by S360As for additional coverage, all managed via a BSS BLU 96kHz DSP.
According to City Winery’s national production and technical director, Marc Colletti, the brief was to translate the precision and emotional impact of a studio monitoring environment into a hospitality setting. Rather than prioritising maximum output, the focus was on even coverage, tonal balance and clarity across the space, whether the system is used for background playback, vinyl sessions or late-night DJ programming.
AVLX managing partner Chris Torri says the aesthetic of exposed-driver loudspeakers was also an important factor, aligning with Miru’s minimalist architectural design. Working alongside Gallagher Staging, the team developed custom steel yoke frames to safely fly the largest loudspeakers above the dining area. Each enclosure, weighing up to 318kg including rigging, was carefully angled to maintain consistent sound pressure levels while avoiding sightline obstructions in the glass-walled rooftop space.
Multiple stereo analogue XLR wall panels provide plug-and-play connectivity for DJs and guest engineers, while a Technics SL-1200GR2 turntable and McIntosh MP100 phono preamp support Miru’s vinyl-led programming. The system is designed to transition smoothly from daytime dining ambience to a more energetic late-night listening environment.
Colletti notes that suspending and precisely controlling the orientation of the large-format monitors was key to achieving even dispersion and minimising reflections within the highly reflective architectural envelope. The result, he says, is a system that behaves as a single, coherent sound source rather than a collection of individual loudspeakers.
Feedback since opening has been positive from guests, staff and visiting artists, with sound quality frequently cited as a defining feature of the venue.