2. digital
  3. 1163627385

Invert Polarity in Digital Domain

Just curious if anybody has heard any differences with CD players which have the option to invert absolute polarity in the digital domain.

I have the Levinson 390S and I hear a clearer (especially voices!), albeit narrower soundstage with polarity setting to normal (interestingly, the player powers up to polarity=invert as the default). This holds true over a wide variety of discs, and for all types of music. The inverted absolute polarity setting is often more involving, though. My preamp and amp do not invert polarity.

I do not hear any differences at all by inverting polarity on the preamp (in the analog domain), by the way.

Thanks for any input.
hgabert

Showing 1 response by edesilva

edesilva
768 posts
 
Based on your "I hear it when its done by the CD player but not when its done by the preamp," I believe your observations may be purely psychological manifestations. Either that or the phase invert button on your preamp is nonfunctional. Phase invert or phase reversal should both do the same thing, and doing it twice is like not doing it at all.

So, it shouldn't matter one iota whether polarity is inverted by the recording engineer that did your CD, your DAC, your amp, your preamp, or by reversing the speaker wires on your speakers.

Either you have established absolute polarity or you are reversed. Either the black wire connects to the red terminal and the red wire connects to the black terminal, or vice-versa. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no halfway ground here...
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