The story of Mic Drop starts inside the former West Hollywood home of Larrabee Studios, the legendary recording space founded by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. For Mic Drop founders Leo and Oliver Kremer, a professional musician himself, that history was more than just trivia—it was a technical mandate. To bring their vision of a hip, modern karaoke bar into fruition, the Kremer brothers teamed up with the engineers at Pineapple Audio to create a technical backbone powered by the Sennheiser EW-DX digital wireless system.
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Having formerly acted as the bass player for Third Eye Blind, Kremer understood the value of high-quality audio and wanted to kill off the thin, distorted sound that usually defines a night of karaoke. He envisioned "Art Disco"—a vibe that’s equal parts 1920s glamour and 1970s glitz.
The project was a massively intricate undertaking. With 30 wireless channels running at the same time across 13 private suites and a main stage, Matt Edgar of audio visual consultant Pineapple Audio noted that the main hurdle of integration was delivering acoustic separation while keeping that high-end studio feel across a 6,000-square-foot floor plan.
"We were intentional about preserving the building's integrity," Edgar explained. "Each room acts as its own controlled environment. Our goal was to minimize bleed between suites while maximizing clarity. We wanted guests to get the same performance they'd expect in a professional studio, no matter where they are in the venue." The EW-DX was the only piece of technology considered to properly bring the vision to life. The system features an ultra-low 1.9 ms latency, which is the difference between a singer feeling "in the pocket" or feeling a distracting delay in their monitors.
Managing 30 channels in the middle of West Hollywood has the potential to become an RF nightmare. Edgar’s team handled this by utilizing Sennheiser’s Wireless Systems Manager (WSM) software to perform floor-by-floor environmental scans. By mapping the RF floor and using a centralized receiver setup, they assigned frequencies with surgical precision.
"The EW-DX system uses an equidistant frequency grid," said Edgar. "It makes coordination way simpler because it gives us consistent audio across every channel without intermodulation risks. We used Sennheiser Control Cockpit for the initial naming and network setup, but now we handle the ongoing management through remote monitoring." On the operational side, Mic Drop uses CHG 70N network-enabled chargers. When a group leaves a suite, the handhelds go right back into the docks to top off the BA 70 rechargeable batteries. This allows the staff to monitor battery health from the front desk, ensuring that no guest is ever interrupted by a dead battery.
At Mic Drop, the gear is part of the art. The venue uses bespoke, gold-plated Sennheiser microphones that stand out against the burgundy and midnight blue walls. These aren't just for show; they’re the primary connection between the singer and the stage. "The microphone is the ultimate touchpoint," Oliver Kremer said. "You feel the weight. You feel the power the second you grab it. It changes how you perform."
That love for the hardware is even built into the ceiling. The room’s centerpiece is a functioning disco ball sculpted as a 30,000-tile replica of the Sennheiser e 835 mic dubbed the “Macrophone.” As Leo Kremer put it, "We debated altering the design but ultimately decided that it had to be an exact replica. It’s eye catching, it's elevated, and it's super fun. That’s Mic Drop to a tee."
