• 11 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Parts of a Public Address System

A small PA system in the order the sound passes through it, from microphone to loudspeaker.

Parts of a Public Address System

Name Date

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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. Microphone
  2. Mixing console
  3. Stage monitor
  4. DI box
  5. Snake
  6. Equalizer
  7. Crossover
  8. Power amplifier
  9. Speaker cable
  10. Main loudspeaker
  11. Subwoofer

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. 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 Next: the controls of a mixing board

All 11 parts on the diagram

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Stage end 5

  1. Microphone It turns sound into an electrical signal. Every other part works on that signal.
  2. Mixing console The desk where every input is set and blended. One mix goes out to the amplifiers. Also called a mixer or mixing board.
  3. Stage monitor A loudspeaker that faces the performers. It lets them hear themselves over the stage noise. Also called a wedge.
  4. DI box A direct input box for an instrument. It converts the signal so it can run down a long cable to the console.
  5. Snake A thick multicore cable with a stage box on its end. It carries every stage signal to the console.

Rack and speakers 6

  1. Equalizer It boosts or cuts bands of frequencies. That shapes the tone and helps tame feedback. This one is a graphic equalizer.
  2. Crossover It splits the signal into frequency bands. Lows go to the subwoofer and the rest to the main loudspeaker.
  3. Power amplifier It makes the signal strong enough to drive loudspeakers. Often shortened to power amp.
  4. Speaker cable It carries the amplified signal to the loudspeakers. It is heavier than a microphone cable.
  5. Main loudspeaker The loudspeaker that faces the audience. A horn handles the highs and a cone the mids and lows.
  6. Subwoofer A loudspeaker for the lowest notes only. It sits on the floor, often under a main loudspeaker.

How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-10-01; a name is kept only when two independent sources use it. (1) Davis and Jones, The Sound Reinforcement Handbook, second edition, https://archive.org/details/YamahaSoundReinforcementHandbookByGaryDavisRalphJones (Microphones, a musical instrument DI box, multicore snake with stage box, mixing console, equalizers, crossovers, power amplifiers, speaker cables, main loudspeakers, subwoofers, stage monitor systems.) (2) Wikipedia, English edition, Sound reinforcement system, Public address system, DI unit and Audio multicore cable, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_reinforcement_system and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_address_system and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DI_unit and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_multicore_cable (The three kinds of device and the signal path: microphones and DI units, the snake to the mixing console, equalizers, crossovers, power amplifiers, main loudspeakers, subwoofers and monitor speakers; a DI box; a snake is a multicore cable with a stage box.) (3) A maker's manual for a portable PA system, https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-119780 (Mixer, graphic equalizer, loudspeakers, speaker cables, an active subwoofer, stage monitor use.) No maker is named. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; own work, no maker's model copied. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a sound system for live events, a public address or PA system, drawn in the order the signal travels. The first view is the stage end, up to the mixing console. The second is the rack and the loudspeakers.

Read the full guide

Stage to mixing console

A microphone turns a voice into a small electrical signal. A DI box does the matching job for an instrument such as an electric bass. The snake, a stage box on one thick cable, carries every signal to the mixing console, where the levels are set and blended. The stage monitor is a loudspeaker that faces the performers.

From the rack to the loudspeakers

The mix passes through an equalizer, which shapes the tone, and a crossover, which splits it into low and high bands. The power amplifier makes the signal strong enough to drive loudspeakers. A speaker cable carries it to the subwoofer, which plays the lowest notes, and the main loudspeaker, which plays the rest to the audience.

  • On a small powered PA, the equalizer and the amplifier are built into the mixer or the loudspeakers, so there is no separate rack.

Questions and answers

What are the main parts of a public address system?

Three kinds of device: inputs such as microphones, which turn sound into a signal; a mixing console and signal processors, which blend and shape it; and power amplifiers and loudspeakers, which turn it back into louder sound.

What does a DI box do in a sound system?

DI stands for direct input. The box takes the signal of an instrument such as an electric guitar or a keyboard and converts it so it can run down a long microphone cable to the mixing console.

What is the snake in a PA system?

A thick multicore cable with a stage box on its end. Microphones and DI boxes plug into the stage box, and the one cable carries all their signals to the mixing console.

What is the difference between a stage monitor and a main loudspeaker?

Main loudspeakers face the audience. Stage monitors, often wedge-shaped boxes on the floor, face the performers so they can hear themselves.

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