2. amps-preamps
  3. 151613-2029

Correct Way to Invert Phase

Hi,

My Conrad Johnson preamp is phase inverting.

The CJ manual says to change the phase "...by reversing the positive and negative connections to your speakers (be sure to reverse both channels)..."

Can anyone explain why changing the positive and negative connections between the amp and preamp would not accomplish the same thing?

Just wondering if this could harm the components or is some other science at work here that I do not understand?

Thanks for listening,

Dsper
dsper
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,577 posts
 
We've had a polarity switch on our preamps since their inception in 1989. IME you can really only hear a minor difference if you have a 2 or 3 mic recording; anything multitracked or multimiked will sound the same in either polarity.



rodman99999
5,984 posts
 
My CDP and phono stage both have phase reversal switches.     The very few recordings I own, that exhibit a change in presentation with a change in phase, are marked.        With those; the effects are obvious.
larryi
3,718 posts
 
Just speculation on my part, but, I bet speakers with drivers that are time aligned on their baffle and have crossovers that also do not shift phase (1st order crossovers) might make it easier to discern changes in polarity.  Of course that would be the case too with full-range drivers, including electrostatics.  
moendrums
2 posts
 
I have a similar problem but the issue is with my sub. It doesn’t have a polarity switch for some reason. I’m using a heavy duty RCA cable to its input from the subwoofer out on my amp. I’m assuming you’d need a box of some sort to invert the phase since RCA isn’t TRS? I used to make my own “phase reverse” TRS cables back in the day when I had a lot more time and patience😂 Any wisdom on the issue would be much appreciated
erik_squires
15,662 posts
 
With RCA you can use an isolation transformer and reverse the outputs, since the outputs of the transformer will be balanced.
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