Phase vs Polarity in Audio - What's the Difference? - Tutorial

[@Raymx3]

This video is gonna be the reason why I'll pass an audio exam tomorrow. Thank you!

[@theexile1155]

You were predestined to be different(Romans 8:29), he who has an ear to hear, let him hear(Mark 4:9). HALLELUYAH!(PRAISE YE YAH!)

[@kutilkol]

starts 1:00

[@JesusChristSaves2024]

Polarity is simply the orientation of the amplitude of the waveform which is either positive or negative. Phase shift is a delay in time. Phase shift at this micro level in either L/R channels is also what creates a stereo effect.

[@sd4808]

Amazing video! Definitely helped me a lot in understanding what phase is and understanding polarity better

[@bobmartin2513]

Very Good! Phase is about position: time and space, more than polarity. Thanks a lot.

[@pedrofigueiredo1936]

Thank you for this video, the Fourier decomp of the wave was a brilliant idea. It really helped me visualize the issue. Best Regards

[@gingerbreadmusicXD]

Damn dude thank you so much... I had the same issue thinking that why do people use phase shift instead of just changing the polarity! This helped a lot!! Thanks

[@pierre-andregueguelarpin1473]

Verry good explainations thanks . As many sound guys at the beggining, i was also confused between electrical and acoustical phase, and i was thinking that the PHASE REVERSE on your mixer was the END of all phase problems. In fact a lot of time it was not the case ! For me now we can try to resolve this kind of problems by two ways, the good position of your mikes and using the channel delay ( if you've got one on your mixer ). But it still not resolves the phase alignement of your subs for sure !

[@RecordingLounge]

No matter how skilled you are, and no matter how long you’ve been engineering, phase issues will always haunt us! We all have to find creative ways to deal with it. Hopefully this video was helpful for you!

[@dulmin_]

This was highly informative for me. Thanks!!

[@rickblackers88]

Great.Very ground breaking for me!!!Thanx so much and keep the good work.Well done!!

[@RecordingLounge]

Thank you! Please share and subscribe!

[@lighterwaves5659]

🔥🔥🔥 quick accurate explanation

[@aantonio06]

I've been trying to understand this phase thing but mainly for car audio application. And from what I got from you is that phase is relative to time delay i.e. distance, where the sound waves arrive at your ears from two similar speakers placed left and right at different times relative to where are you sitting on. Is this correct? So in order to correct this, DSP comes to play?

[@subhamgogoi3989]

Great video. Really cleared up my confusions! Thanks a lot!!

[@davidnika446]

Now there's A.I. software designed to fix phase issues. Hmmm. First, when using multiple mics, the sound that each mic records is at least a bit tiny different (due to whatever the acoustics are) AND out of phase, by at least a little. So there's always some cancellation and reinforcement, and thus volume change when the tracks are played together. Now, the volume change can be "fixed" by turning up or down the gain, and/or with compression. So, shouldn't we just move entire tracks a bit forward or backward in the time-line until it all sounds good, and then just leave it? All of the phase adjustment software seems like an unnecessary vortex of over-complicated stuff that we don't really need.

[@tomrosenjacobson80]

Very nice vid man! Love the balance struck: keep it simple and easy to follow while still using the correct terminology and other ideas of AE.

[@Jeremy_Reynolds]

Hey man! So, I requested that podcast, and I just now watched the video. I'm terrible. But that was a great demonstration. Thank you!

[@kdmashups9014]

Thanks man, that's a great explanation!

[@Rene_Christensen]

By phase reverse they mean 'change the (phasor) phase 180 degrees', which is EXACTLY the same as a polarity flip. A time delay is NOT the same as a (phasor) phase change; for temporal aspects, you cannot look at a single frequency on its own, because you need the derivative to find the group delay. When you shift the signal along the time line, you have NOT changed the phasor phase, you have change the omega*t aspect of the total phase (sin(wt+phi); phi is basically the phasor phase). So this video, as most others on the topic, is not technically correct.

[@benyano1]

Great explanation!

[@abbeyroad9529]

so well done! thanks!

[@domeniconitti529]

hi! The inversion of the phase must be done only on one track or on both? (for example if I have recorded the same part but with two different mic's)

[@Altuz]

You'd flip polarity on only one mic (if you're recording with two microphones).

[@KiteFlyingRobot]

Excellent as always.

[@shaihulud4515]

That's interesting. Never shed too much thoughts about that. So, does that mean: - if signals have opposite polarity, they are in phase, but have their phases reversed 180^, so they cancel out perfectly - if signals are out of phase, they do not necessarily cancel out (special case: sine waves)?

[@RecordingLounge]

If two identical signals have opposite polarity and start at the same time, they will cancel out. But… if you had two identical signals, one polarity reversed, but starting at the 180 degree phase mark of the first, they would then be “in phase” with each other. In complex waveforms, different frequencies will likely have different phases and volumes and may or may not cancel.

[@shaihulud4515]

@@RecordingLounge Thank you very much! I tried for a long time to wrap my head around this - finally it makes sense!

[@Rene_Christensen]

@@shaihulud4515 A polarity flip is the same as 180 degree phase shift at all frequencies. A 180 deg phase shift does NOT mean shifting the signal in time, although a continous (non-causal) signal at one particular frequency can LOOK the same when time shifted or with a phase change of pi. But as soon as you truncate the signal and look at multiple frequency components, you will see the difference between a proper PHASOR phase 'inversion' (equal to a polarity flip) and a time delay (NOT equal to a phasor phase shift). In signal processing, it is always the phasor phase that is of interest and is plotted, not the phase change that happens over time, as that happens equally on e.g. the input and the output of a system, so the phase shown for a complex transfer function or the phase of some complex Fourier components is the PHASOR PHASE, which is not related to a time delay. For some reason, all videos on this topic are wrong, including this one.

[@shaihulud4515]

@@Rene_Christensen So, back to square one :) I thought I finally get an idea of what is meant: so, if I hit the designated button on my mixing desk: do I flip polarity or phase? I am so not familiar with electrical stuff, it's hard to wrap my head around this. Especially if all the explanations aren't that easy obviously. I guess, it's one of these topics, where easy explanations tend to lose accuracy by oversimplyfication?

[@beardguitar5539]

Thanks man...that cleared up a lot for me.

[@fredwood2033]

Hey man , I'm rewirng my old set of Kloss Advent speakers and neither the woofer or the tweeter is marked for polarity, could you recommend a method of synching the positives and negatives on these speakers?

[@Manakel77]

Hi, I got a question from a friend I couldn't answer. Can you help me with that? The question is: he recorded an electric bass (bass-interface-laptop/Logic) and the (mono) wave begins with negative polarity and he reported a loss of frequencies, how could that happen? He recorded a guitar instead of a bass with the same equipment/setup and he got a mono positive polarity wave. thank you

[@RecordingLounge]

The polarity and phase of the resulting waveform generally depends on the pickup, and how the bass is played. For example, playing downstroke with the thumb vs upwards pluck with the finger vs pulling away from the bass. Try playing it different ways to see what the resulting waveform looks like. Otherwise, it could be an incorrectly wired bass, cable, or a reverse polarity pickup. Lots of variables. The reason there was a loss of frequencies or low end was potentially because of how that frequency cancels in the acoustic environment of the room. Rooms that aren’t well treated can have huge +/-15dB peaks and dips in the frequency response. I would assume it wouldn’t be as drastic on headphones. Hope that helps.

[@Manakel77]

@@RecordingLounge thank you!

[@filipa1155]

Very good video. Best Regards from Poland!

[@claudio1634]

What about the phase rotation that a standard eq (non-linear eq) introduce around the equalized frequency? Could you explain how a bell filter or an HPF works from a "phase" point of view, please?

[@RecordingLounge]

+claudio that's a great idea for a video!

[@tomorrowishere11215]

Put the podcast link in the description bro! Gracias

[@kwantumspin]

ok . i saw the video . i still dont see how "phase reverse" is technically wrong ? when the option is actually doing that .

[@RecordingLounge]

It’s not technically “wrong” it’s just perhaps not the best way to phrase it. It confuses people on phase vs polarity. Polarity is a binary state and phase is more of a continuum, so it’s really just a terminology thing.

[@bvrunowerneck1234]

Saved my research thank you, i heard that capacitors change the phase of speakers in 90 degrees and was just wondering wtf that was LOL

[@RecordingLounge]

They actually can in certain circumstances, but It totally depends on how they are used in the circuit and what type of circuit it is. This is mostly a function of how capacitance, inductance, and resistance interact. In short...it’s complicated. Haha

[@rescareguy]

Great video.Easy to understand!!!

[@fredwood2033]

Let me further explain what I'm working with, within the speaker boxes there's a crossover with 2 positives and 2 negatives , (a set for the woofer and a set for the tweeyrts) BUT the speaker terminals themselves aren't marked positive and negative and I'd like them hooked properly.. see my delima?..

[@RecordingLounge]

If you hook up a 9v battery to it, you can tell what the polarity is. Use the markings on the battery as your guide. The “correct” polarity is when the speaker pushes OUT. If the speaker cone pulls IN, it’s reversed. Look this up on KZbin if you’re not sure what I mean!

[@fredwood2033]

@@RecordingLounge I see what you mean, thanks alot for the info..

[@livemixpriyan]

awesome video

[@amado5490]

My waveforms are not sinusoidal. There is wave both in the positive as in the negative polarity. Is that alright?

[@RecordingLounge]

That is normal. Unless you’re working with 100% pure sine waves, it won’t be sinusoidal!

[@ganaorganador]

This was useful. Thanks man!!!

[@Mineiro426]

Excellent tutorial. Thanks for posting.

[@spaziojobim]

Very well explained!

[@arthurazoubel5344]

Excellent!! We can think about "phase" as being a "time" parameter, not a visual!

[@arthurazoubel5344]

By the way I just heard at the end of the video: "check my phasebook page" hahaha

[@RecordingLounge]

+Arthur Azoubel oh snap. LOL

[@andym7333]

how do u change fase live??

[@HeadRecieverAtHeadOffice]

amazing video, explained the concept very well

[@bedfordstudios3282]

Thanks Kendal. You da man!

[@davewinston5550]

Polarity describes the electrical connection. Phase describes the audio signal. Changing the polarity will change the phase of the audio signal. Changing the phase of the audio does not change the polarity of the electrical signal. They are related but not interchangeable. You can’t play a sound and talk about it’s polarity.

[@yourmusicdesign]

That's interesting man!

[@myplaguesify]

What happen if you accidentally switch the speaker terminals,like positive to negative instead of positive to positive? What exactly does this to the speaker or the sound it produce?

[@joshpetrone4282]

myplaguesify with just one speaker you most likely will not notice a difference. If you have 2 speakers and wire one correctly and one the reversed you will notice cancellation of mono material. It’s the same as the wave forms in the example above - with just one source you will really hear no audible difference but if you take 2 and reverse 1 they will cancel. Hope that made sense...

[@RecordingLounge]

^^ Josh is correct

[@giangvu7902]

Perfect explanation!

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

Buuuut, I DON'T know what happens when you switch polarities. It would have been really great had you paused to explain it (during your #tutorialVideo on related subject-matter, vs presuming). I am already struggling with the ADHD. The last things which most of us need is an explanation designed with holes of definition clarity and/or consequential action. However. I do appreciate what you did cover.

[@vinaykatoch]

new to this channel..grt stuff !!..subscribed with bell

[@DanHarkless_Halloween_YTPs_etc]

5:21 - Did I understand that correctly? "Where you've got green, it's positive all up in here"? 😏

[@computerjantje]

check out the phasebook page :) Just kidding, this is really a very clear video. Thank you very much

[@HieuPham-pw6og]

i love you so much

[@amonchhetri1053]

nice one!

[@firesoulrocker]

Well ive heard music better inverted then what it was.

[@awedee.0]

phlip polarity push the phase...

[@theexile1155]

You were predestined to be different(Romans 8:29), he who has an ear to hear, let him hear(Mark 4:9). HALLELUYAH!(PRAISE YE YAH!)

[@HaRDc0r3z]

how are you going to make a video about audio and not play a single sound? like, no auditory examples whatsoever?