Where does this come from, and can I check it?

The audience hears the main system, while the band hears monitors pointed back at them. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a music fact?

Yes. It sits on the Music shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

A live show needs two separate sound systems

The audience hears the main system, while the band hears monitors pointed back at them Mixing both at once is a compromise, which is why large shows use separate desks and engineers. In ear monitors replaced many wedges by giving each player their own mix. Feedback happens when a microphone hears the speakers. It sits in Mondo's music collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Britannica

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

Technology trivia

More facts like this

The same stage microphone has been standard since 1966The Shure SM58 is a budget dynamic built to survive being dropped Line arrays keep big crowds at even volumeCurving a stack of cabinets steers sound further without blasting the front rows Feedback is a loop that feeds itselfA microphone picks up a speaker, which feeds the same tone back louder The Shure SM58 became the standard stage microphoneThe cardioid dynamic mic arrived in 1966 and has barely changed since In-ear monitors replaced a wall of wedgesSingers once relied on floor speakers aimed up at them from the stage lip Delay towers carry sound to the far fieldExtra speaker stacks are timed to arrive in step with the main stage

Tags: live-sound, concerts, equipment

A live show needs two separate sound systems: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: The audience hears the main system, while the band hears monitors pointed back at them. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a music fact?: Yes. It sits on the Music shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.