10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
The CAT exam has 100 questions and runs 2 hours.
These 10 free CAT questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Commercial Audio Technician (CAT) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
A school auditorium needs its present reverberant decay for concerts, but spoken announcements produce a distinct repeat traced to one strong rear-wall reflection. The proposed correction must preserve the room's musical character. Which treatment best meets both needs?
Correct answer: B - Redirect or diffuse the strong rear-wall reflection.
Replacing a cardioid lectern microphone with a conventional supercardioid model reduces gain before feedback. The microphone still points toward the presenter, and the foldback monitor remains directly behind it. For the nominal supercardioid pattern, which monitor angle puts the unwanted sound in a rejection null?
Correct answer: D - About 126° from the microphone's forward axis.
A training-center presenter encounters wireless microphone dropouts near one doorway. The receiver's RF indication falls there and recovers when the presenter moves one step; audio is clean elsewhere. A second compatible handheld, tested alone on the same coordinated channel with a fresh battery, behaves the same way. Which test should follow these observations?
Correct answer: B - Reposition the receiving antennas and repeat the walk while watching RF strength.
From a proposed loudspeaker position, an auditorium's seating spans 80° horizontally and 30° vertically. The walls and ceiling are reflective. All four candidates meet the required bandwidth and output, and their stated patterns apply throughout the speech band. Select the coverage that fits the seating with the least excess spill.
Correct answer: A - 90° horizontal × 40° vertical.
A media player's nominal output is −10 dBV; its maximum unclipped sine-wave output is +2 dBV. An adjustable line amplifier, with sufficient input and output headroom at every listed gain, feeds a processor with a +4 dBu nominal input and a +18 dBu maximum unclipped sine-wave input. Which gain setting aligns the nominal levels within 0.5 dB and keeps the player's full sine-wave output range below the processor's input limit?
Correct answer: C - +12 dB
A museum kiosk's stereo player feeds a mono amplifier through a Y adapter that directly joins the left and right output conductors. Each channel sounds clean when connected alone, but connecting both produces distortion and a level drop. The installation must retain program material from both channels. Which change addresses the connection error?
Correct answer: D - Replace the Y adapter with a suitable stereo-to-mono summing interface.
A cafe has twenty loudspeakers on a 70.7 V circuit, all tapped at 2.5 W. Eight will be changed to 5 W; the remaining twelve will stay at 2.5 W. The 100 W amplifier's instructions limit total tap demand to 80% of its rating. There are no other loads; disregard wiring and transformer losses. Which commissioning note correctly assesses the revised load?
Correct answer: A - 70 W total; the existing 100 W amplifier can remain.
A shop's 70.7 V background-music system worked normally until a DSP preset bypassed the loudspeaker-transformer manufacturer's required high-pass filter. Tap totals and wiring are correct. Speech remains clean, but deep bass becomes distorted and the amplifier's current-limit indicator flashes. Which adjustment most directly restores the intended operation?
Correct answer: A - Restore the prescribed high-pass filter ahead of the amplifier.
At a hotel conference, emphatic speech from a condenser microphone clips the installed mixer's microphone input even at minimum input gain. At the same speaking level, the microphone is clean through another compatible preamplifier. The installed mixer's master output is not clipping. Where should the technician correct the overload?
Correct answer: C - At the microphone input, by engaging its compatible input pad.
A wall-mounted loudspeaker above a staffed reception desk has shifted downward. One anchor is pulling out, and the wall is cracking around it. What should the technician do first?
Correct answer: C - Clear and block off the area below the speaker before corrective work.
The full bank has 1,020 more CAT questions with explanations.
Continue in the free practice test →
View plans