The Cartel des Mines is an annual three-day sporting event that was created in 1962 at the initiative of the École des Mines de Paris engineering school. The occasion brings together teams from all of the European Mining Schools (Paris, Douai, Nantes, Alès, Albi, Saint-Etienne, Nancy, Madrid, Vigo, Oviedo, Turin, Bochum, Krakow and St. Petersburg), as well as the Emines-School of Industrial Management in Benguerir (Morocco), to compete in different sporting disciplines before enjoying evenings of entertainment.
The 2019 edition of the Cartel took place in Albi (France), and drew some 2,000 students each night. French technical services company, SC Management, was on hand to provide the audio reinforcement for the associated festivities, which included a rousing opening ceremony at the Sainte Cécile cathedral square and evening parties at the Parc des Expositions exhibition centre featuring full light, sound and video production.
In order to achieve the best possible results for such a high-profile event, SC Management opted to employ an APG-heavy audio setup across both venues.
“I discovered APG about 15 years ago,” said manager of SC Management, Sebastien Vaudez. “We worked together on a number of club and restaurant installation projects and subsequently began building our inventory of both rental and installation-focussed products. We now stock a large part of the range including their PA systems, subwoofers, amplifiers and processors.”
Sound reinforcement for the opening ceremony came from six APG SMX15 stage monitors and four TB215S high-powered bass speakers.
The main system used for the three nights was comprised of 12 Uniline Compact UC206Ns and six UC206W, coupled with six Uniline UL115B and eight UL118B for some much-needed bass reinforcement. On-stage monitoring came from a pair of SMX15s and four Uniline Compact UC115Bs.
Sebastien Vaudez said: “The APG products were perfect for this application. The power to size / weight ratio is unbeatable, and the sound quality is second to none. A great deal of thought goes into the manufacturing of every APG product, from hardware choice to cabinet quality, and this can be heard and felt even at high sound pressure levels.”
The system was driven by APG’s SA30:2 and DA50:4 high power amplifiers, and processed by DMS48 digital loudspeaker & system controllers.
Sebastien Vaudez was keen to praise APG, both in terms of their products and the brand as a whole. He said: “It’s always a gamble to go against using the handful of household names when it comes to choosing an audio manufacturer. You have to take into account the type of market you are working in, the expected performance, the availability and your investment budget. At SC Management, we decided that APG was the brand that met our expectations in relation to all of these factors and more.”
Vaudez added: “The relationship with a company like APG is very simple. Less links in the supply chain means more direct service and closer relationships. We ask a question; we get a quick response.
“They are passionate about audio, but their philosophy differs from that of other manufacturers, as does their approach. If there is any doubt as to what that means for us, I can tell you that I am already thinking about the next investments needed to complete my APG inventory.”
