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BG Events deploys huge Martin Audio Wavefront Precision system for BSW arena show

Budapest-based production company BG Events recently deployed what is believed to be the largest total hang for a single event of Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision series. A total of 120 line array elements from the WPL, WPC and WPS series, together with thirty-six SXH218 subs, were specified for BSW at the Papp László Arena.

Celebrating two decades since BSW first formed in 2006, the “#BSW20” tour marks a defining moment for the group, charting their journey from the underground hip-hop scene to the summit of Hungary’s live music industry as one of the country’s premier stadium-level performers.

“We hadn’t worked with the band before, but the production team were aware that we had delivered numerous shows at the arena and were very familiar with the venue”, says Bácskay Gábor Mazsi, System Tech at BG Events. Having deployed Martin Audio MLA for many years, the company upgraded its inventory to the manufacturer’s latest-generation Wavefront Precision Series in May 2025.

“When we talked with the BSW team about using WPL rather than MLA, they were very happy with it”, notes Mazsi. “The WPL is very similar in character, and also has zero feedback to the stage. I’m personally also very happy with the WPL sound image.”

The Papp László Arena presents a formidable acoustic challenge, not only in terms of throw lengths but also due to an unusual asymmetric design. “The first challenge is definitely distance”, Mazsi explains. “The arena is 120 m long from the stage front to the last seats. But oddly the building is also asymmetrical, with two seating tiers on the left and three on the right.”

The final system design comprised eighteen WPL array elements per side as main hangs, all driven at one-box resolution. To address the venue’s differing tier heights, the outfills comprised twelve WPL on the left and fourteen WPL on the right.

First delays featured a further eight WPL per side, whilst second delays comprised eight WPC Series array elements per side to reach the far end points. Fourteen WPS models acted as front fills, configured in 4 x 3 and 1 x 2 box stacks, with a further six WPS per side deployed as flown sidefills.

Low-frequency reinforcement - critical for the hip-hop performance - was provided by a total of thirty-two Martin SXH218 subwoofers. Two arrays of six were flown 1 m behind the main PA, with a further twenty ground-stacked in ten pairs, with the bottom unit reversed in cardioid configuration.

“We used the ‘40 ms left-right cancellation’ for the flown subs. It worked really well in this venue”, describes Mazsi. “The ground-stacked ones had 70 cm spacing and opened sixty degrees by time. The flown subs were powered by amps in bridge mode, whilst the ground stacks used one amp channel per box.”

The entire system was powered by iKon iK42 amplifiers. “The iK42s have a separate DSP for each amplifier channel - you can set any sub timing or front fills”, says Mazsi. “The large hangs work well with six to nine amps, and if you were to have any issues, you can just hot-swap any of them, so you don’t lose the whole array.”

On-site, the WPL’s new faster rigging method and simplified cabling also proved valuable for the crew: “We prepared the correct length of breakouts in advance, then hung four WPLs cart by cart”, reports Mazsi. “We configured the setup and loaded the presets to the iK42s in the warehouse.” According to Mazsi, FOH engineer Péter Agárdi was also “very happy” with the result.

(Photos: Daniel Dobrovszki/Mate Lablanc/Armin Speil/Oliver Toth/Korosi Zsolt)

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