Introduction - What are we trying to achieve?

The reasons for using P.A. systems are almost as diverse as the buildings they are used in, but broadly speaking, can be divided into three categories, based on their function.

Reinforcement

This is the most common use, and the easiest to understand. As churches increasingly include untrained speakers in their services, the difficulties of making these people heard by their congregation become greater. In this instance, the P.A. system amplifies the voice to reinforce the natural sound of the persons voice.

Amplification

Much like reinforcement, the aim is to make sounds louder. However this term is more commonly applied in situations where the extra volume is required either to make a sound audible where it would otherwise not be (e.g. a person speaking in a huge auditorium) or to alter the balance of sounds (e.g. an acoustic guitar being used as accompaniment for corporate worship).

Reinforcement

Not strictly speaking "P.A." as such, but often used in the same context - the purpose is obvious - to produce a recording of an event. In some instances, for example in small halls where no reinforcement of the voice is required, recording may be all that is required. More often however, recording takes second place in the system to sound reinforcement. It's an important enough subject to warrant its own section on the site.

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