Have you ever had to rewire a speaker (The Transducer) because it was out of phase as part of a pair or system?
Have you ever......
- Thread starter ahoustondj
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Never with an OEM cabinet.
I've replaced some drivers with new ones that weren't marked for + and -. Had to use a 9-volt battery to determine the polarity.
I've replaced some drivers with new ones that weren't marked for + and -. Had to use a 9-volt battery to determine the polarity.
Did you test the battery first with your tongue????
Jolts the tongue and not in a good way!
Yeah, but if you really want to lose control of your bodily functions I recommend doing it with a plug and stripped wire at the end running 120VJolts the tongue and not in a good way!
I'll be the first person you meet in your trip to the mothership
Yeah, but if you really want to lose control of your bodily functions I recommend doing it with a plug and stripped wire at the end running 120V
No Thank You Very Much! Me thinks you are a perverted Sadist!
No Thank You \Very Much! Me thinks you are a perverted Sadist!
Pervert yeah, sadist not.... yet
they still haven't given me access to a live murderer or rapist but when they do I'll document the evolution of my sadism.
Yeah had to do it a few times. Bass bins were the culprit. I had a partner that was tone deff and could not hear that the subs were out of phase (this drives me crazy, its the first thing I listen for when I attend a function). It turned out they were wired out of phase after a recone of one of the drivers.
yes. we quite regularly check the phasing of our system. Last year we phase checked the entire rig from individual drivers, to cables, and all the way back to the sources.
Check speaker polarity
To make sure all your speakers are in phase, unhook the speaker you want to test at the amp (both wires preferably). Using a 1.5 volt battery (any size), touch the positive terminal of the battery to the positive wire going to the speaker, then do the same for the negative wire. Have a friend look at the speaker. If the speaker pops out, the polarity is correct. If the speaker pops in, the speaker is hooked up backwards (out of phase). To fix this, simply reverse the wires when hooking the speaker back to the amplifier. A word of caution here: DO NOT hold the battery power to the speaker for more than 1 second, all you want to do is to see if it pops in or out. You will damage the speaker if you hold constant power to it. Do not use a higher voltage. Also, do not try this test on tweeters, you could fry the voice coils. If there are crossovers with capacitors along the line, this test will not work (capacitors block DC voltage). Bypass the caps momentarily.
To make sure all your speakers are in phase, unhook the speaker you want to test at the amp (both wires preferably). Using a 1.5 volt battery (any size), touch the positive terminal of the battery to the positive wire going to the speaker, then do the same for the negative wire. Have a friend look at the speaker. If the speaker pops out, the polarity is correct. If the speaker pops in, the speaker is hooked up backwards (out of phase). To fix this, simply reverse the wires when hooking the speaker back to the amplifier. A word of caution here: DO NOT hold the battery power to the speaker for more than 1 second, all you want to do is to see if it pops in or out. You will damage the speaker if you hold constant power to it. Do not use a higher voltage. Also, do not try this test on tweeters, you could fry the voice coils. If there are crossovers with capacitors along the line, this test will not work (capacitors block DC voltage). Bypass the caps momentarily.
Best way to test a pair of full range speakers is to get a sweep genarator and test at all frequencies. Wire them to the same channell of the test amp so they would be getting the same signal. I have also come accross amps from different manafactures that are out of phase to each other so be carefull when mixing different brands.
I check polarity after any repair or rewiring is done.
phase is a different thing, but often gets confused with polarity in regards to speaker.
reference here if you wish to read more:
http://www.monstercable.com/mpc/stable/tech/A2500_Speaker_Phase.pdf
And no, I'm not trying to be condescending or anything, just trying to be informative.
phase is a different thing, but often gets confused with polarity in regards to speaker.
reference here if you wish to read more:
http://www.monstercable.com/mpc/stable/tech/A2500_Speaker_Phase.pdf
And no, I'm not trying to be condescending or anything, just trying to be informative.
G
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Ok so what does it sound like....
I now know what it would look like assumeing you have a clear view of the speaker cones and can watch them move in and out..... if out of phase it would appear that they would move in opposing directions whenever the signal hit them hard enough to make the movement visable. Is that correct?
If you have the polarity wrong on one of the drivers, it will cancel out the sound of the other one where the waveforms meet. It's mostly noticeable as the frequencies get lower.
If you have 2 speakers in the same cabinet, you'll get no bass out of it. You can try this yourself easily by setting up 2 speakers side by side. Reverse the leads on the input and you'll definitely notice that the bass is greatly reduced. If the bass suddenly becomes very prominent, then one of the speakers is wrong to begin with.
If you have 2 speakers in the same cabinet, you'll get no bass out of it. You can try this yourself easily by setting up 2 speakers side by side. Reverse the leads on the input and you'll definitely notice that the bass is greatly reduced. If the bass suddenly becomes very prominent, then one of the speakers is wrong to begin with.
On a side note, but on the same subject...
you might notice in a lot of speakers with passive crossovers is that the polarity of the tweeter is actually reversed. This is to help with some of the difference in the distance in the vertical plane of the coil of the woofer and the coil of the tweeter, instead of using a delay and 2 separate amps to control them. This reversal is usually done at the crossover, putting the negative wire on the positive output of the HF section, and the positive wire on the common negative.
If your bi-amping, your crossover might have a horn delay control on it, then you would not want the HF driver to be polarity reversed.
you might notice in a lot of speakers with passive crossovers is that the polarity of the tweeter is actually reversed. This is to help with some of the difference in the distance in the vertical plane of the coil of the woofer and the coil of the tweeter, instead of using a delay and 2 separate amps to control them. This reversal is usually done at the crossover, putting the negative wire on the positive output of the HF section, and the positive wire on the common negative.
If your bi-amping, your crossover might have a horn delay control on it, then you would not want the HF driver to be polarity reversed.
out of phase will REALLY be noticeable on some of the older, stereo songs...
when they'd put ALL the vocals on one side, or all of the guitar on the other.
for example: try an old Beatles song....
if you hear the backup vocals and harmonies, but NOT the main vocal...
it's out of phase.
never had the problem with a speaker
but messed up a few speaker wire repairs that way.
the quick fix is to swap the + and - contacts at the amp (if possible)
when they'd put ALL the vocals on one side, or all of the guitar on the other.
for example: try an old Beatles song....
if you hear the backup vocals and harmonies, but NOT the main vocal...
it's out of phase.
never had the problem with a speaker
but messed up a few speaker wire repairs that way.
the quick fix is to swap the + and - contacts at the amp (if possible)