The Basics

When thinking about audio signals, remember SMASH.

• Source
  • Audio signals travel down a "stream" starting with the source. Sources can be a microphone, computer, tablet, or phone. Anything that creates a source signal.
• Mixer
  • The signal then travels into a mixer where you can "mix" signals from multiple sources. A mixer allows you to manipulate the levels and frequency bands of your source signals.
• Amplifier
  • After the mixer the signal travels to an amplifier which amplifies the signal for the speaker. Most amplifiers are built into the same device as the speaker. All speakers in the Union have the amplifier built in.
• Speaker
  • The speaker turns the signal into audio waves.
• Hear
  • Once the signal is turned into an audio wave, we can hear it.

When troubleshooting audio issues, start at the source and then work "downstream" to help identify the issue.