Phase Inversion??


Hey you smart folks out there:

I was just wondering about phase inversion in my system. I am running a Shunyata Hydra 4, powering a Modded Rotel 1072, going to a Sonic Frontiers SFL-1, then to a Conrad Johnson Premiere 11A, then finally to Proac 2.5's. With such a "multi-cultural" system, would the phasing be correct if I just keep the connections by the book or is there some inversion in the path? The Sonic was the one I was especially wondering about. Or should I just flip/flop my speaker connections and try it? Thanks in advance, my little brain can't handle this one..

Greg
128x128validpoint
The easiest way to check for phase inversion is to use any of the "Test and Demo" disks out there. If you hear a difference. act upon it. Otherwise you just need to try your system with a certered vocalist and then try it with the phase inverted at the speaker outputs of your amp. Keep the connection that sounds best, but remember that what is best for one source is not always best for another, and for your own sake - trust your own judgement and just enjoy the music!
Regards,
Ray
Ohhhh, big can of worms here for some people. Here's my impression.

On some pieces of equipment I definitely hear a difference with AC inversion - changing the orientation of the AC plug. The "correct" orientation results in an expanded soundstage and more space around the instruments (less flat than the wrong way). This is readily observable and easily heard.

Correct phase polarity on digital sources is less easily perceived (by me at least). Som people tell me that one CD may be phase correct, while the other is inverted. Others say that alternating tracks each have reversed phase, so if track 1 is in phase then track 2 is out of phase, and so forth. Far too much work to keep changing back and forth, or to identify and lebal each disk as a whole even.

The sonic effect of correct phase seems to be a clearer and better defined high end without compression. A subtle difference, for sure, and many audiophiles I know can't hear a difference at all. Many times I can't either, so I usually don't bother.

My recommendation is to work on the AC polarity in your system first. That seems to be readily observable and beneficial to many people who have tried it.

Enjoy,
Bob
There was a recent thread on this. The phase inverted effect is known as "Woods Effect"--run a google search. I gather some recordings may invert phase anyway, so you can't *always* have it right anyway.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1083195224&read&keyw&zzphase+inversion
How does one change the orientation of the AC plug, as the size of the prongs seems to dictate a single way to fit into the wall sockets? Also, there can be a third prong which also limits physical re-orientation of the AC plug.
Easiest thing to do is rewire the outlet with correct phase. Believe you can get a little $5 device at home depot to plug in to see if the outlet is wired correctly...

I'd also note that AC phase is different from the phase that validpoint is talking about.