The burgeoning Maltese bar hotspot of St. Julian’s, overlooking St. George’s Bay, is where you will find both Hugo’s Lounge and Hugo’s Terrace & Rooftop. Established by the late leisure entrepreneur Hugo Chetcuti, the operation is today run by his son, Luke who is CEO of the Hugo’s Group.
It is more than a decade since Stefan Farrugia, MD of Martin Audio distributor Futuretech, installed CDD5 in the former venue. While CDD5 remains a firm favorite with the installer, when he was called in to upgrade the sound system that he originally installed at the Terrace many years ago, he only had one series in mind: Martin Audio’s potent BlacklineX.
“The venue needed a more powerful sound system, because although in the beginning the style had more of a lounge feel, with a DJ and live music they now needed something more powerful to retain customers through until 4am.
“I knew exactly what was needed,” said Farrugia, “more power and better coverage. I already knew the place very well and chose Blackline because it’s extremely good value for money.”
The music is relayed through two zones—indoor and outdoor. Four Blackline X12 and a pair of Blackline X218 subs have been installed around the indoor dancefloor, with a further pair of X12 as DJ monitors. Broadcasting sound on the outdoor terrace have been added six Blackline X10 and a pair of X118 subwoofers.
To this Futuretech have added industry standard amplification, matrix control, FOH mixer and Pioneer CDJ’s.
Luke Chetcuti is delighted with the quality of the new system. He said, “The improvement to the sound is remarkable, and a number of our customers have commented, as well as our bands and DJs. The Martin Audio Blackline series will see us well into the future.”
