As soon as the sound system fails to meet expectations, the audience will be distracted and the impact of the event will be lost. While your production or audio-visual company will help select the right sound systems and equipment, it helps to learn the basics of how sound systems work and the different pieces that are needed. Sound can come from many sources. You may have panelists speaking into microphones at a head table, walk-in music played on a CD, a remote participant connected to your meeting via videoconferencing, or maybe a staged theatrical presentation. If someone has a soft voice and someone else speaks loudly, the sound levels of the microphones can be adjusted separately for each person.
Microphones require one input and stereo sound requires two inputs.
You don't want to be caught in the position of handing a cassette to the production company at the last minute and finding out that it is not possible to add another audio input. The mixing board is connected to the equalizer, which is used to adjust the different sound frequencies to match the acoustics of the meeting space. Spoken presentations and music, for example, have different audio reproduction needs. And different rooms have different acoustics. A ballroom with thick carpet and low ceilings will have much different acoustics than an exhibit hall with concrete floors and high ceilings.