Jimmy Woo owner Casper Reinders is a veteran of two other Amsterdam venues - Noa and Joia and has set about creating a distinctive clubbing venue with an emphasis firmly on quality that will undoubtedly add an extra dimension to Amsterdam nightlife. The club itself is themed on the home of the fictional character after whom the club is named. Jimmy Woo has been dreamt up by Reinders as the driving force behind the venues' strong oriental theme - Woo being a sociable Chinese Triad from Hong Kong who enjoys throwing extravagant parties for his guests. As a result the club exudes oriental charm both old and new with an 18th century Chinese opium bed and other oriental antiques combining with a sleek and smouldering modern take on oriental design - all of which provides the perfect setting for the club's upper level lounge zone.

However, it is the venue's main dance arena below where much of Jimmy Woo's technological attention to detail takes place. Here, a major sound installation from PB Audio and revolutionary lighting system from Lightco has ensured that Jimmy Woo sets itself apart.

Funktion One were chosen to provide the club's sound system following a recommendation to Jimmy Woo musical director and DJ Caspar Romelingh by legendary New York DJ and producer Francois Kevorkian. A subsequent demo sealed the deal and PB Audio's Michel van de Beek and Funktion One's Tony Andrews set about creating the perfect system for the club - a system that has seen the European club debut of Funktion One's much heralded Dancestack.

"Because the distortion of Funktion-One products is really low, it was very easy to ensure that the sound would not be harsh on the ears," explains PB Audio's Michel van de Beek. "The challenge was to modify the low section in a way that suited the club. Following a number of brainstorming sessions we decided to replace the Infrabass in the original Dancestack with an extra F218 which ensured a low cut off yet increased impact. An experimental horn extension which improves both sensitivity and definition was also chosen as was the Labgruppen FP6400 to provide amplification. The system is completed by Res 2Us flown horizontally as rear, peripheral speakers in the main room and eight F88 loudspeakers plus two Minibass 212 low frequency cabinets in the upper lounge area."

The club's system was finished with a brand new colour scheme design which has ensured that the speakers blend into the Asian style interior. The modifications have created a bespoke system with increased clarity and bass sound that really suits the club both sonically as well as aesthetically.

"The end result is really setting new standards," enthuses Michel. "We have only heard nice comments from both customers and the DJs who have visited the club." Complementing Jimmy Woo's specially designed sound system is a lighting system unlike any other. The revolutionary Lightco Digital Matrix Panel installation has seen the club's 11m x 10m ceiling, plus back wall, covered in almost 12,000 lamps controlled by almost 3,000 DMX channels. The bulbs can be linear dimmed from 0% to 100% which means both light output and colour temperature can be closely controlled. Not only this but thanks to advanced matrix software shapes, effects, figures and scrolling text can be created from any point on the 12,000 lamps to create a jaw dropping effect. The dancing crowd below can be either warmed by the gentle glow of the lamps or dazzled, blasted and strobed depending on effect. Even the beat of the music can be monitored.

Andras PollŽ has designed and project managed the system at Jimmy Woo, he comments: "To use beam lighting at Jimmy Woo would have been far too direct, particularly with the relatively low ceiling height. This would have drawn the attention away from the overall concept of the club and this was something that the owners were very keen to avoid. Not only is the Lightco Digital Matrix Panel a stunning addition to the club's look and personality but the lighting design amplifies the club's overall concept."

Casper Reinders has been influenced by his visits to clubs across the world, not least Body & Soul in New York. Indeed the Big Apple is coveted by Reinders as a potential site for development and the next installment of the Jimmy Woo biography. Watch this space.