SH Spotlight SH Forum members: Are your speakers in correct phase?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Oct 25, 2004.

  1. pdenny

    pdenny 22-Year SHTV Participation Trophy Recipient

    Location:
    Hawthorne CA
    Tacky, but effective :)
    [​IMG]
     
  2. pmckeeaalaska

    pmckeeaalaska Forum Resident

    Location:
    Anchorage, Alaska
    When I first saw this post I thought, "you've got to be kidding me, who wouldnt have done this correctly". Well, I found out the answer and it was "me!". I had the wires for my right front channel wired incorrectly going into the amp. I cant believe I did that!
     
  3. Michael Bohannon

    Michael Bohannon Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Lexington Kentucky
  4. mindblanking

    mindblanking The Bourbon King

    Location:
    Baltimore, MD
    Thanks. Bought a set of bi-wire AudioQuest Rocket 33 speaker cables today. Hooked them up and love them! I know now is probably not the time to post a new thread about speaker cable (see the, um, ya know, the, um, the (coughing) BarryDiamentleavingthread) but I gotta say- the difference between this and the low end monster cable I was using is really significant. Not even close. Tighter bass by far. More detail. Everything I listen to just sounds more present and alive. But... can someone explain THIS? http://www.mitcables.com/available-online/oracle-v1.3-bi-wire-speaker-cable.html $29,000 for speaker cables!
     
    AaronW likes this.
  5. fluffskul

    fluffskul Would rather be at a concert

    Location:
    albany, ny
    I feel like such a failure... definitely had my **** set up wrong. Thanks Steve! And whoever bumped this thread.
     
  6. Ntotrar

    Ntotrar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tri-Cities TN
    Roger that Capcom we are wired in phase! Commence music...
     
  7. beverett

    beverett Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, TX USA
    i love this.
     
  8. fluffskul

    fluffskul Would rather be at a concert

    Location:
    albany, ny
    Just saw it was Steve who bumped this as well... so thanks again.

    I never thought it would make such a huge difference, the only thing I had wrong was my speaker wire on one speaker (the side with the writing was connecting black in stead of red). Now its like a whole new listening experience. I don't even get how that imaginary center channel happened, but there it is, even in my very small listening space. I'm half convinced someone hid another speaker behind my amp, while I was fixing the wire.
     
  9. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

  10. Anonamemouse

    Anonamemouse my other pink shirt is black too

    Here we are, all talking about how amazing certain recordings sound, and quite a few cannot even hook up their system the right way...
    Makes me wonder...
     
    lukpac and th0m like this.
  11. fluffskul

    fluffskul Would rather be at a concert

    Location:
    albany, ny
    Hence, this thread. There's a lot of things that people may not know to listen for, until its pointed out, and after you find out its so painfully obvious you feel silly for not noticing in the first place. Listening is a skill, and its necessary to train the ear. I don't think many of us are born knowing how to hear "out of phase" or "compression", or many of the things people here will point out. But once its been explained to you and you hear it, you'll never miss it. That's what I love about this forum.
     
  12. SBurke

    SBurke Nostalgia Junkie

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    Cool, always wondered how that worked.
     
  13. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    This.
     
  14. elvismcdouglas

    elvismcdouglas Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monterey CA
    This is the most eye-opening thread I've come across here. Unfortunately, I bought my Jolida components used, sans the manuals. I've been searching online about my preamp, a Jolida JD9, whether or not it's phase inverting, but without luck. Is it as simple as reversing the speaker cables from + to - on the speakers to see if they sound better? Or maybe somebody here knows if the JD9 is phase inverting....
     
  15. wgriel

    wgriel Forum Resident

    Location:
    bc, canada
    I once had the speakers in my kitchen wired out of phase. It was after I bought I new amp and I didn't pay close enough attention to the order of the binding posts. I think I had them that way for a month or so - it's not a place that I do any "serious" listening, but even so, I knew something was wrong and I didn't have a clue what was up.

    Eventually I added a new component and I had to take a look at the back of the amp and I noticed. Man did I feel foolish! The impact was huge on the sound quality.
     
  16. Anonamemouse

    Anonamemouse my other pink shirt is black too

    Well... If anyone hooks up his or her system with such a lack of attention to even the small details... It continues to make me wonder.
    It's no rocket science. The wires are marked. Pay attention to what you do. Quite simple.
     
  17. malco49

    malco49 Forum Resident

    thanks for the advice i checked my stand mounted and isloated PSB image B25's running through a modest cambridge aduio AZUR 540A with the song you recommended and sounded SMOKING!!!! it was from the mono mix of the CD boxset that came out a few years ago.....can't wait for the vinyl boxset!
     
  18. frimleygreener

    frimleygreener "It 'a'int why...it just is"

    Location:
    united kingdom
    a slight tangent...but at the "speaker end",what is the preference for connection? "bare wires",or banana plugs?
     
  19. wgriel

    wgriel Forum Resident

    Location:
    bc, canada
    There really isn't a firm rule here. Bare wires are pretty good if you are never unplugging/replugging the wires in. If you do have to occasionally connect/disconnect, bananas are nice. And there's nothing wrong with spades for that matter.

    I use a combination of banana plugs and bare wires. My kitchen speakers are mounted and a bit difficult to reach and I just use bare wires with them. I do use bananas with my 703s in the living room though.
     
  20. mindblanking

    mindblanking The Bourbon King

    Location:
    Baltimore, MD
    While trying to A/B two pairs of speakers and not realizing that the amp hadn't yet powered down, I accidentally touched two speaker wires together. Poof! Bye bye amp channel. I'm now a banana plug guy for life!
     
  21. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    It is VERY important to verify phase. Get your money's worth out of your system and your music!

    Check your system now.
     
  22. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    "Thank you, Ralph..." :tiphat:
     
  23. marcfeld69

    marcfeld69 Forum Resident

    [quote="
    Glad you asked. It's very easy. The best way is to find something on a CD in MONO. Before you say "I HATE MONO, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING IN MONO" let me assure you that you do. Try a BEATLES Past Masters CD or a earlier STONES CD. Make sure you aren't using a fake stereo source! Play "Thank You Girl" back from Past Masters. Stand directly in front of your two speakers, placing them at equal distances apart from you and on the exact level (not one on the floor and one on a chair). Stand in front and hit PLAY. The music should sound like it is coming at you right down the middle of the two speakers in a defined space. IF IT DOESN'T, YOU ARE PROBABLY WIRED OUT OF PHASE.[/quote]

    Help! I was sure I had done the right check for this, but if I listen to this track off PAST MASTERS, it does indeed sound like the sound is coming from the centre, more or less, but the harmonica part is clearly coming from the right speaker and drums from the left. What do you think?

    I have a Zonotone (AVSP-1200Q Meister) cable which has insulation around four wires, a red and a white and a black and a green at each end. I have the red and the white going into the positive connects on each speaker for the tweeter and woofer respectively, and the black and the green for the negatives of the same connects.

    The arrows and the writing is definitely going from the amp to the speakers (though the arrows and writing is of course on the outer insulation).

    One other thing: I am using the PAST MASTERS from the Stereo box, not the MONO Box but I was assuming that this track is MONO anyway (?).

    Would the recent Byrds' mono and stereo versions be a better test?
     
  24. marcfeld69

    marcfeld69 Forum Resident

    Anything special about this product? Don't all these lens-cleaning thingies have the speaker test?
     
  25. pdenny

    pdenny 22-Year SHTV Participation Trophy Recipient

    Location:
    Hawthorne CA
    I've owned a few of these discs over the years and not all had a phase test.
     

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