• 11 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Microphone Labeling Quiz

Eleven parts to find on a handheld microphone cut open at the head, from the grille to the backplate.

Microphone Labeling Quiz

Name Date

Tap the cable

1 of 11

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Grille
  2. Windscreen
  3. Capsule
  4. Diaphragm
  5. Coil
  6. Magnet
  7. Body
  8. XLR connector
  9. Cable
  10. Condenser diaphragm
  11. Backplate

Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-27. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Read every name on the labeled microphone

All 11 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Start here: 6 main parts 6

  1. Grille The metal mesh round the head. It protects the capsule and lets sound through.
  2. Windscreen A layer of foam inside the grille. It softens puffs of breath and wind before they reach the capsule.
  3. Capsule Turns sound into an electrical signal. It is the working heart of the microphone.
  4. Body The handle you hold, which carries the signal down to the connector.
  5. XLR connector The three-pin plug at the bottom, the usual connector on professional microphones.
  6. Cable The cable that carries the signal to a mixer or preamplifier.

Inside the capsule: 4 3

  1. Diaphragm A thin, light skin at the front of the capsule. Sound waves make it move back and forth.
  2. Coil A coil of wire fixed to the diaphragm. As it moves in the magnet's field, it makes a small electrical signal.
  3. Magnet A permanent magnet whose field the coil moves in.

A condenser capsule: 2 2

  1. Condenser diaphragm In a condenser microphone, the diaphragm is one plate of a capacitor. Sound moves it closer to and further from the backplate.
  2. Backplate The fixed, perforated plate behind a condenser's diaphragm. Together they form a capacitor.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-27. Wikipedia, Microphone, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microphone : the dynamic microphone uses a coil of wire, attached to the diaphragm, suspended in the field of a permanent magnet; sound entering through the windscreen moves the diaphragm and the coil, making a voltage; in the condenser microphone the vibrating diaphragm is a capacitor plate; foam hats shield wind into the grille; the male XLR connector is the most common connector on professional microphones; microphones typically connect to a preamplifier. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-27. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

This microphone labeling quiz opens on its first question: a part is named, and you tap it on a handheld microphone whose head is cut in half.

Read the full guide

Eleven parts, top to bottom

From the top down the parts are the grille, the windscreen and the capsule, with the diaphragm, coil and magnet inside the capsule, then the body, the XLR connector and the cable. Two more are in the circle: the condenser diaphragm and the backplate. A part you miss is offered again after the eleventh question.

Parts that get mixed up

The grille is the dotted metal ring on the outside; the windscreen is the foam ring just inside it. The coil is the small striped piece under the diaphragm, and the magnet is the dark blocks either side of it. There are two diaphragms: the curved skin in the cut-open head, and the thin plate in the circle.

  • A parts list may print element for the capsule and windshield for the windscreen.
  • A dynamic microphone is also called a moving-coil microphone, after the coil this quiz asks for.
  • The seam across the body, the plug on the cable and the ring round the condenser capsule are drawn and not asked.

Questions and answers

What does the windscreen on a microphone do?

It reduces the effect of wind on the microphone. Sound waves pass through the foam with little loss, while moving air is held back far more.

Is a pop filter the same as a windscreen?

Not quite. A pop screen protects against blasts from one direction. A foam windscreen shields against wind from every direction.

What is an XLR connector on a microphone?

The plug at the bottom of the body, where the cable goes on. Of the most common microphone connectors, the male XLR is the one on professional microphones. The one drawn here has three pins.

Why does a condenser microphone need power?

To set up a voltage across its capacitor plates, the diaphragm and the backplate, and to run its electronics. The power arrives through the microphone input as phantom power, or comes from a small battery.

What does a microphone cable plug into?

A preamplifier: a microphone typically has to be connected to one before its signal can be recorded or played back.

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