Audio signal flow

Audio signal flow is the path an audio signal takes from source to output. The concept of audio signal flow is closely related to the concept of audio gain staging; each component in the signal flow can be thought of as a gain stage.

In typical home stereo systems, the signal flow is usually short and simple, with only a few components. However in recording studios and performance venues, the signal flow can often be quite complicated, with a large number of components, each of which may cause the signal to fail to reach its desired output. Knowing each component in the signal flow becomes increasingly difficult and important as system size and complexity increases.