I guess they learned their lesson after their Palo Alto(?) store was unbearably loud.
The Lincoln Center, NY store is also unbearably loud. When SIRI was first released, I went there to try it out and it wouldn't work because there was too much noise. Then I heard this huge volume of music coming from the basement that sounded like a live band. I went down there and it was just some small speaker system reverberating around the floor.
It's all those hard surfaces: concrete floors, glass ceilings, hardwood tables, stone walls and glass panels on the walls. IMO, it's not the noise of Flatbush Avenue that would have been the problem - it's the internal noise in the store. If what they've done to lessen the outside sound also reduces the internal noise, that would be great. Not that it really matters from a sales standpoint - they'll sell the same amount in the store no matter what. If anything, noise will probably get people to leave the store faster instead of hanging out and checking email and social media.
My Dad is 87. He gets along pretty well in most situations, but he really can't stand to be in the Apple store at Barton Creek Mall in Austin. The noise and even the lighting is just a bit too much for him. I find it pretty loud and vibrant, but no so much that it bothers me. I fully understand the loudness thing though, as almost every restaurant I go into has become, over the last 10 years, almost completely unbearable. My understanding is that restaurant designers want the room to feel live and successful because people don't like gathering in quiet spaces. I'm betting Apple store designers look at their venues the same way - they don't want them to be quiet. Personally I think this concept is taken too far and with modern acoustical design some mid-range balance could be reached. Particularly in a retail space where conversation has a need to heard clearly and correctly in order to complete transactions.
I'm a lot younger than your father, but I'm an ex-recording engineer and I can't stand loud places. It's not the sound of people that's the problem for me, it's how the interior design is amplifying and reflecting that sound. And then in your typical bar, you add on all the TV sets, "background" music, etc. and I find it to be a nightmare. Personally, I can't stand restaurants where it's so loud, it's almost impossible to have a conversation. Also, as one ages and losing hearing capability, it's harder for people to hear a conversation when there's a large amount of background noise. And due to loud environmental noise, subways, earbuds and concert and club levels that would violate OSHA regulations if they were factories, people are experiencing hearing loss at younger ages. I work with a lot of musicians and they all have hearing loss and/or tinnitus. (Anecdotal, but whenever I walk into my mother's house, I immediately hear the refrigerator door alarm and the phone off the hook beep that younger people in that house don't seem to be able to hear.)
This reminds me of all those famous rock stars raving about the phenomenal sound of Neil Young's lossless digital music player and how much better it sounds than even high quality AAC files or CD. I'd be willing to bet real money that most of them have terrible hearing after decades of performing live and attending concerts; they probably couldn't tell the difference between even low-quality MP3s and the best possible recordings. Personally, I wish I had been more careful about being exposed to loud music when I was a kid; my hearing as a middled-aged adult is pretty bad.
I guess they learned their lesson after their Palo Alto(?) store was unbearably loud.
The Lincoln Center, NY store is also unbearably loud. When SIRI was first released, I went there to try it out and it wouldn't work because there was too much noise. Then I heard this huge volume of music coming from the basement that sounded like a live band. I went down there and it was just some small speaker system reverberating around the floor.
It's all those hard surfaces: concrete floors, glass ceilings, hardwood tables, stone walls and glass panels on the walls. IMO, it's not the noise of Flatbush Avenue that would have been the problem - it's the internal noise in the store. If what they've done to lessen the outside sound also reduces the internal noise, that would be great. Not that it really matters from a sales standpoint - they'll sell the same amount in the store no matter what. If anything, noise will probably get people to leave the store faster instead of hanging out and checking email and social media.
My Dad is 87. He gets along pretty well in most situations, but he really can't stand to be in the Apple store at Barton Creek Mall in Austin. The noise and even the lighting is just a bit too much for him. I find it pretty loud and vibrant, but no so much that it bothers me. I fully understand the loudness thing though, as almost every restaurant I go into has become, over the last 10 years, almost completely unbearable. My understanding is that restaurant designers want the room to feel live and successful because people don't like gathering in quiet spaces. I'm betting Apple store designers look at their venues the same way - they don't want them to be quiet. Personally I think this concept is taken too far and with modern acoustical design some mid-range balance could be reached. Particularly in a retail space where conversation has a need to heard clearly and correctly in order to complete transactions.
I'm a lot younger than your father, but I'm an ex-recording engineer and I can't stand loud places. It's not the sound of people that's the problem for me, it's how the interior design is amplifying and reflecting that sound. And then in your typical bar, you add on all the TV sets, "background" music, etc. and I find it to be a nightmare. Personally, I can't stand restaurants where it's so loud, it's almost impossible to have a conversation. Also, as one ages and losing hearing capability, it's harder for people to hear a conversation when there's a large amount of background noise. And due to loud environmental noise, subways, earbuds and concert and club levels that would violate OSHA regulations if they were factories, people are experiencing hearing loss at younger ages. I work with a lot of musicians and they all have hearing loss and/or tinnitus. (Anecdotal, but whenever I walk into my mother's house, I immediately hear the refrigerator door alarm and the phone off the hook beep that younger people in that house don't seem to be able to hear.)
This reminds me of all those famous rock stars raving about the phenomenal sound of Neil Young's lossless digital music player and how much better it sounds than even high quality AAC files or CD. I'd be willing to bet real money that most of them have terrible hearing after decades of performing live and attending concerts; they probably couldn't tell the difference between even low-quality MP3s and the best possible recordings. Personally, I wish I had been more careful about being exposed to loud music when I was a kid; my hearing as a middled-aged adult is pretty bad.
Same here. I've got mild tinnitus, but even worse is a near total loss of the ability to hear a certain frequency in one ear due to a thoughtless idiot at my former place of employ yelling directly into my ear.
Wait since when are the tables cordless, or am I just seeing things,
[image]
There's no slinky cord under these, is this new ?
The tables are custom made. The cords are through the legs to the floor underneath directly. There is a gap inside the table for trenching, each to individual devices through a small hole under the device stands.
They use to have that thick, black spiral cable under the tables, and then had where the cable came out of the leg near the floor. I'm glad they moved to a completely hidden setup.
I suppose that's why there's a "grate" under each table so they can access the electrical going to each table, but I wonder if that's even necessary if they just planned for a proper, bespoke power cable in one leg and use giant pins for the three other legs to keep the "powered leg" from moving.
I'm pretty sure those grates are almost completely for air conditioning/circulation.
I appreciated the 'honesty' of the electrical coils from a design perspective, but looking at these photos, and how amazingly clean and soothing the space is, I definitely agree that hiding the cords is worth the minor cost to the aesthetic/functional integrity.
Apart from delivery trucks, almost nobody will be driving here. It’s basically right in front of subway stops for 10 different subway lines, various busses and a commuter rail serving Long Island, and within walking distance for more than 100,000 people. There are parking garages and street parking in the area, but here most people use their cars only when it’s the most convenient option, which is rare.
Apart from delivery trucks, almost nobody will be driving here. It’s basically right in front of subway stops for 10 different subway lines, various busses and a commuter rail serving Long Island, and within walking distance for more than 100,000 people. There are parking garages and street parking in the area, but here most people use their cars only when it’s the most convenient option, which is rare.
Just my opinion, but that sounds awful. Public transportation is a horror show.
Removing the thick black coiled cable from each table looks 100x better imho, but the cables running from the device(s) to that gap in the centre looks equally naff. Sure, it lets you have a 1-table-fits-all (ipod/ipad/macbook) display but surely Apple can afford to not have such needless cost-cutting ideas imho.
I think this makes more sense for individual holes consider devices change and things will move around a bit. This is more flexible and allow devices to be picked up easier, I would think.
Wait since when are the tables cordless, or am I just seeing things,
[image]
There's no slinky cord under these, is this new ?
The tables are custom made. The cords are through the legs to the floor underneath directly. There is a gap inside the table for trenching, each to individual devices through a small hole under the device stands.
They use to have that thick, black spiral cable under the tables, and then had where the cable came out of the leg near the floor. I'm glad they moved to a completely hidden setup.
I suppose that's why there's a "grate" under each table so they can access the electrical going to each table, but I wonder if that's even necessary if they just planned for a proper, bespoke power cable in one leg and use giant pins for the three other legs to keep the "powered leg" from moving.
I'm pretty sure those grates are almost completely for air conditioning/circulation.
I appreciated the 'honesty' of the electrical coils from a design perspective, but looking at these photos, and how amazingly clean and soothing the space is, I definitely agree that hiding the cords is worth the minor cost to the aesthetic/functional integrity.
I agree with the honesty of them, but someone else said recently they cannot stop their kids getting under the tables at Apple stores. I'd assume those inviting, Slinky cables would be the first thing a kid would pull at under there.
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I appreciated the 'honesty' of the electrical coils from a design perspective, but looking at these photos, and how amazingly clean and soothing the space is, I definitely agree that hiding the cords is worth the minor cost to the aesthetic/functional integrity.