I have had a horrible time with dealers putting my car speakers out of phase (didn't even know what I was talking about). I have gotten to where I check it, and sometimes fix it myself.
Yes - although the first time I set up my system it was out of phase. I'm no expert on this, so I'd appreciate some feedback. Do the auto-setup functions on Yamaha receivers with the included mic give good information, or should I trust my ears more?
I have a setup using a cd player, pre amp and active monitors connected using rca leads, is this still something I need to check?
I have a Radio Shack HT setup disk that plays some white noise amongst the 5 channels so you ear can tell if the speakers are in phase with each other. According to my ears they were but I checked all the cabling anyway to make sure. It was easy to do since I'm using flat speaker cables pinned above the baseboards and the polarities are labeled on the wires and my crimp insulators are color coded.
I never ceased to be amazed when I go into record stores how many of the systems they are using to play the music are out of phase! JG
Steve: Thanks for bringing this up. Phase is a secret fear on mine. I am pretty sure my speakers are in phase but I am too frightened to test since I have three way active speakers (that's six speaker cables) and it all seems a bit too much sometimes. Maybe soon I'll get the nerve to do it. Jay
Make the effort, mark your cables so you know what went where and figure it out. Your ears will thank you (also the bass response).
After switching from my old trusted Harman Kardon 6100 to my newly aquired Yamaha CR-820 I noted that something was wrong with the sound. The HK sounded warm, the Yamaha made my ears bleed. Great disappointment, is this the famous natural sound? I checked the speakers and one actually was out of phase! I would never had thought what a big difference an out of phase speaker makes. Annoyingly shrill highs, no real bass and an overall unpleasant sound.Boy, amI glad, to have checked the phase issue!
Cool. And funny that a big record company had difficulty with in phase wiring Mine is in phase. Stereo imaging is also rather cool.
You'd be surprised, I have heard stories about some people with big time systems and didn't even have them set up in phase.
The "Stay In Tune With PentaTone" SACD has lots of test tones including phase checks and is pretty cheap and available. So I am definitely In Phase.
I did this test, just for the hell of it, with the mono Thank You Girl, and my speakers were in phase , still it was fun to do and I got to Past Masters for the first time in a long while, thanks Steve.
and make sure those rca plugs are way into the amplifier with the grounds touching, or it will sounds like fake stereo with little bass and low hum
Owners of vintage JBL speakers might want to be aware that JBL went a different direction with their speakers for quite a while before they changed their polarity issues. http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?9-JBL-Polarity-Convention&s=
Is there a particular type of recording or sound that makes polarity more easy to discern? I haven't done a polarity test in a long time. Back then my system wasn't as resolving as it is now. I couldn't hear a difference. I probably could now, but is there a recommended CD that really makes it stand out clearly? This would also help us demonstrate to others. Thanks, ccm
Can't find anything in my manual but I have a NAD C 165BEE pre-amp and wondering if anyone knows whether, as Steve describes, my preamp inverts phase. My guess is no. It's a fairly low end (meaning NOT $2,000+) so I'm thinking I should probably stick with pos-pos and neg-neg but thought I'd ask.
------------------------ Used the Stereophile CD-2 Test cd any time I move my gear around. Ralph, the dog, is a great help.