The Cartel des Mines was created in 1962 by the École des Mines de Paris engineering school to bring 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.
An annual three-day event, it was held this year in Albi, France, and drew around 2,000 students each night. Technical services company SC Management provided the audio reinforcement for the associated festivities, which included an 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.
SC Management opted for an APG-heavy audio set-up at both venues: ‘I discovered APG about 15 years ago,’ says SC Management’s 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. The system was driven by APG’s SA30:2 and DA50:4 high power amplifiers, and managed by DMS48 controllers.
‘The APG products were perfect for this application,’ Vaudez reports. ‘The power-to size-to-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 levels.’
‘It’s always a gamble to go against using the handful of household names when it comes to choosing an audio manufacturer,’ Vaudez says. ‘You have to take into account the type of market you are working in, the expected performance, availability and your investment budget. We decided that APG was the brand that met our expectations in relation to all of these factors and more.
‘The relationship with a company like APG is simple. Less links in the supply chain means more direct service and closer relationships. We ask a question; we get a quick response. APG is passionate about audio, but its philosophy differs from that of other manufacturers, as does its 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.’
More: www.apg.audio
