ABSTRACT
Mixers, form a vital part of any live-sound system. Despite the general trend towards ever more affordable compact digital mixers for live sound, it is still helpful to fully understand the workings of an analogue mixing console, as the analogue operational paradigm is mirrored closely by most digital mixers. The goal of the mixers input stage is to amplify the input signal to a level where it falls within the mixer circuitrys optimum operating range well above the noise floor, but below the point where overloads and clipping occur. Capacitor microphones have built-in electronics that require a power source and this is usually supplied via the mixers 48 volt phantom power source. Digital mixers have slightly different operational constraints from analogue desks, but the same general philosophy applies as the signal levels should be kept reasonably high while still leaving a practical headroom margin, to allow for unexpected signal peaks.
