ragata said:
Pretty much, but usually (in a "decent" system) you got:
Mic -> Snake/stagebox -> Mixer -> Crossover -> power amp -> mains
deepwater said:
Mic -> Snake/stagebox -> Mixer -> EQ -> Crossover -> power amp -> mains
You forgot the EQ
Light said:
Mic -> Snake/stagebox -> Mixer -> EQ -> Limiter -> Crossover -> power amps -> mains
You forgot the Limiter.
Don't want to blow those mains, man!
And you usually have a plurality of power amps.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
And of course, if you REALLY want to do it right, you have
Mic -> Stage Box -> Split Snake-> Signal A from the split goes to the monitor mixer, which has -> insert EQ's on all monitor busses -> monitor limiters -> monitor power amps -> monitors
and Signal B from the split goes to ->FOH mixer -> FOH inserts (usually compression or gates) -> back to the FOH mixer-> FOH effects -> FOH mixer returns -> output from the FOH mixer through the Matrix outputs to -> FOH Limiters -> FOH EQ's -> FOH delays -> various speakers, including mains, delays, front fills, and subs
If you want to be really picky about a really decent PA.
But if anybody wanted to answer the question, yes, you can go Mic -> mixer -> power amp -> speakers. It is common to have the power amps as a part of either the mixer or (even better) the speakers. Active speakers have all sorts of advantages, particularly in a low cost system, but they are also considerably more expensive. It is also common to have either inserts (typically dynamics such as compression or Gates) and/or effects (typically reverb or delays, though there are other possibilities).
So what you discribe is a minimum, if you are using it for a small crowd. The larger the audience, the more you might want to think about hireing a competent sound guy who can not only do the mix for you, but also design a system which will sound good.
You know, I really can be snarky sometimes.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi