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

Tacky, but effective

 

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!

 

Thank you.

 

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!

 

I feel like such a failure... definitely had my **** set up wrong. Thanks Steve! And whoever bumped this thread.

 

Roger that Capcom we are wired in phase! Commence music...

 

i love this.

 

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.

 

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...

 

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.

 

Cool, always wondered how that worked.

 

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....

 

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.

 

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.

 

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!

 

a slight tangent...but at the "speaker end",what is the preference for connection? "bare wires",or banana plugs?

 

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.

 

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!

 

"Thank you, Ralph..."

 

[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?

 

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

 

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