A38 Party-ship
Budapest
HK Audio CONTOUR X sets the tone aboard Budapest’s legendary A38
Budapest’s famed A38 ship has upgraded the sound on its terrace stage, and HK Audio is now at the helm. The 600-capacity outdoor/indoor performance zone—known for its electronic music programming—is now powered by a CONTOUR X system provided through local partner Eurhythmics.
An Iconic Venue Reimagined for Live Sound
Permanently docked on the Danube, A38 is anything but a typical venue. Once a stone-hauling barge, the vessel was stripped to its hull and reinvented by an interdisciplinary team of architects, marine engineers, acoustic specialists, and electricians as a multi-space live entertainment destination with three performance areas. In the more than twenty years since reopening, A38 has welcomed international artists across virtually every genre, served as a set for numerous live recordings and TV shoots, and now hosts several shows each week during the summer months—cementing its status as one of Budapest’s busiest cultural landmarks.
Tailored Technology for a Demanding Space
The bow terrace—an approximately 600-person area geared heavily toward EDM, with a strong drum & bass presence—had been struggling with an aging PA. Excessive sub energy spilled onto the stage, creating a loud, muddy environment that made clean mixing difficult. With the 2025 summer season approaching, the A38 crew opted to replace the system and began evaluating alternatives.
Earlier in the year, Eurhythmics staged a demo event at A38 to showcase the breadth of HK Audio solutions. That session prompted the venue’s technical team to reconnect and explore whether HK Audio could address the terrace’s performance and acoustic challenges.
“It’s a large space that’s partly open and partly enclosed,” says Eurhythmics’ Gábor Major. “The asymmetrical roof adds another wrinkle, so the acoustics require careful attention.”
To meet those demands, Eurhythmics specified four CONTOUR CX 210 LT tops, flown as left/right pairs, backed by four C Sub CF118 subwoofers ground-stacked in twos on each side of the stage. A pair of CX 8 cabinets handles delay duties, while six Linear 5 Mk2 110 XA units serve as stage monitors.
“A38 preferred a point-source rig over a line array, but the terrace is long,” Major explains. “The CX210 LT throws cleanly to the back without losing impact—exactly what was needed.”
Clean Coverage, Less Spill, Happy Crew
Location constraints also drove the design. “The ship sits in a residential stretch with apartments close by, so minimizing spill was critical,” Major notes. “With the CX210 LT’s rotatable horns we could reshape the pattern to keep energy focused inside the vessel. We modeled the coverage in EASE to verify it, and the results matched our projections—spot on.”
Low-frequency management has been one of the standout improvements. “With the previous setup, once you pushed the lows everything bled onto the stage and the mix fell apart,” recalls Major. “By placing the C Subs to the sides instead of across the front, we kept the impact but gained separation—stage volume is dramatically lower.”
The verdict from the venue has been enthusiastic. “The tech crew really enjoy working on the new rig,” says Major. “It’s significantly louder than the old system, stays solid at high levels, and just feels bulletproof. HK Audio built this thing to take a beating—and it stays consistent show after show.”
