On the outside, Sweet Spot resembles the breed of upscale lounges that pump glossy house music into downtown Washington on Friday nights, places like Lima, Eden, and Current (which may singlehandedly be keeping the squiggle-shaped lamp industry afloat). 

Inside, the 200-person club is smaller and less ostentatious than its K Street NW neighbors.  "I've been DJing for many years, playing many cities [in Europe] where places like this exist," says part owner Palash Ahmed, one half of the DJ duo Saeed and Palash, who co-owns the establishment with his brother Shumon.  "I wanted something less pretentious... something less loungy."

For Ahmed, sound was top priority.  Hence his decision to install a Fulcrum Acoustic sound system, the likes of which, he claims, cannot yet be found on the East Coast. It sounds lovely and pristine, like water drops on a Design Within Reach coffee table.  But it is definitely not a threat to the U Street Music Hall.

Ahmed knows this.  "It's a studio-quality system" with a "clear" sound, he says.  Comparing it to U Street is like comparing Manolos with steel-toed Doc Martens: One is sexy and expensive, and the other one is simply built to pound your face off.  "U Street is a great place...but it's a bigger club with a bigger system," says Ahmed. "I don't think you need to have the most powerful system to feel the music."

Music may be where Sweet Spot will depart most from the beast on U Street, which books a range of electronic music across genres, from electro to Baltimore club to Berlin techno. At Sweet Spot, says Ahmed, "The music is going to be eclectic," but his weekend lineup is largely dominated by house. "Friday nights are going to be for sexy house music....Saturdays, it'll be dancier — more New York- or Miami-style house."  The club's grand opening is tonight, with DJs from London-based music conglomerate Hed Kandi (self-identified as the "world's most glamorous music and lifestyle brand").  Let the pink champagne flow.  And by that I mean: if you're a whiskey person, maybe sit this one out.