The importance of phase in audio

Paul shares with us the importance of phase and why.

[@nmathur2455]

1.If your crossover changes phase it can give you difference in the presence , true 2 When one pair of speakers, are connected out of phase I can clearly hear the difference. The lower frequencies from L and R speakers cancel and the degradation in sound is audible to an enthusiastic. Last year listened to some orchestra at a friend home and it didn't sound right , he had a high end system. Rewired his system , from amp to the speakers and the difference was amazing,!

[@spentron1]

Almost any time that a phase issue might be audible, it causes a frequency response change that almost certainly should be audible. And/or is the product of interesting frequency response.

[@johncheshire6581]

There is what I think is a rare mistake in phase by Octave Records on track 7 on the Audiophile's Guide The Loudspeaker. Track 7 is Tom Amend playing Solo PIano and it does not sound good because left and right channels are out of phase with each other. I edited the track in Adobe Audition, inverting the phase of one channel - this fixes the track and the piano does sound glorious when the phase is corrected.

[@glenncurry3041]

I have been double blind tested to detect absolute phase 100% of the time. I can walk into a room and tell you if the system is in absolute phase (with appropriate music sources). I can detect out of phase mics. Like Toshiba liked doing in their Direct to Disc on the bass drum. I think it is more a matter of training. Knowing what to listen for. But I am also finding I can hear high frequencies others around me do not.

[@spacemissing]

There are a few different types of phase relationships. 1. Someone breaks a window toward a microphone. The first sound should move the speaker toward the listener. If the speaker instead moves away from the listener, the absolute phase is reversed. Reversal is Virtually Impossible to detect when listening to a recording, despite many published claims to the contrary by cranky audio nuts. 2. Phase shift across the frequency spectrum, sometimes called 'group phase': If a bass note, a midrange note, and a treble note all begin at the same instant, the recording and reproduction chain should preserve that exact alignment. Errors here may be audible, or they may not, depending on various factors including the quality of the equipment. 3. Channel phase --- left woofer moves out while right woofer moves in. This is the easiest phase error to hear, as it causes weak bass and strange spatial shifts, although it is sometimes used on purpose to achieve a particular effect.

[@RichTeer]

Some test records/CDs have tracks that are in and out of phase, and identify which is which. When the phase changes is sticks out like a sore thumb, to me at least.

[@_UnknownEntity]

Love your videos Paul! 👍❤

[@sidesup8286]

Accuphase most certainly does live up to their name as far as taking phase response into account. Decades ago they made a few expensive moving coil cartridges; the AC-1 and AC-2. Their focus and image was superior. They were good enough that I'm sure 3 decades later there's people out there still using them (after multiple re-tipping). Tube preamps (MC ready) and moving coil cartridges are a great combo. Not only are both known for having amazing soundstaging, but MC cartridges can usually use some warmth and body. There are tube amps that are cleaner than others. The emotional connection with music that sounds so open, three dimensional and with great warmth and body is considerable.

[@craigaust3306]

Not sure what a lot of your explanation has to do with phasing

[@sidesup8286]

Re: my oft, off subject approach on audio forums..Paul mentioned Accuphase questioningly. I mentioned their moving coil cartridges and that led to me mentioning that tube preamps usually sound good with them. Everything ties right in. What's wrong with that? I figure a little poetic freedom is appropriate here, there and everywhere. What a boring forum this would be if we all walked a narrow chalkline without variance; just to please certain ones. I feel Free. It runs in my family. My relative made commercials and one time it started out to be a soap commercial and ended up as an opera. Those who have been following my posts about the cable risers and the pizza shop; starting November 1st it will officially be an audio store. They will still sell pizza, way in the back.

[@BruceCross]

For years, I've lusted after the Accuphase FM tuner, but the origin of their name was a surprise to me.

[@justinhardt1]

Those speakers sure are looking beautiful..

[@Metalhead-4life]

Wonder if Paul would let me borrow them...indefinitely?

[@stimpy1226]

So here's a question for Paul. What happens when you purchase a pair of XLR balanced interconnects that were inserted between the preamp output and the amp input and one of the two interconnects was wired 180° out of phase? That actually happened to me when I purchased this pair of high-quality cables. Took me a week to try to figure out why things didn't sound correct until I took a DVM and checked them out. What a nightmare! Of course, the manufacturer had me send the set of cables back to them and then sent them back me after two weeks (instead of a two day turnaround) without even an apology for this major screwup from this very well-known audio company.

[@NoEgg4u]

Two digital albums that I purchased from Pono Music (when they existed) contained songs that were out of phase. One song was Edgar Winter Group's "Frankenstein". The other song was John Fred and his Playboy Band's "Judy In Disguise". Both songs were part of a compilation (two different compliations). The Frankenstein song is just shy of lousy sound quality. So the phase issue barely affects the sound quality. The Judy In Disguise song is decent sound quality (but not very good sound quality). Correcting its phase was much more noticeable. I used Sony's Sound Forge to correct the phase. I have searched for a great sounding digital Frankenstein release, to no avail. They are all very compressed. If anyone knows the name of any album that has a dynamic, full of life version of that song, please let me know. By the way, when my local high-end store delivered and set-up my speakers, they connected my right speaker out of phase. The store's owner was there at the time, and did not hear it. He was ready to leave. I told him that it does not sound right (and he has a great ear -- but he was in a rush to leave, and did). I did not know why it sounded wrong. Some time later, I called him and insisted that he come back. He sent over one of his skilled employees. He listened for 5-10 seconds. That was all it took for him to hear the problem. He looked behind the amps, and found the right one's cables connected out of phase. After he corrected it, it made a huge improvement. It was unlistenable when the one speaker was out of phase. The store's owner had egg on his face, because he prides himself on his ear -- and he really does have a great ear. I ribbed him a bit, for my sonic agony (I lived with it for longer than I care to admit, because the owner was reluctant to send anyone over). But we all make mistakes. So phase matters, especially if it is only one speaker.

[@sidesup8286]

I wonder what D. Blake would say about this. He seems to not be participating anymore. Does anyone miss his armchair theories? I have had ribbon tweeters that sounded better wired out of phase.

[@bikdav]

What you described with the phase issue is what I've experienced.

[@sudd3660]

as Paul said, flips in phase can be inaudible. but you you have a few degree of phase rotation from either driver position relative to another driver as in in a 3way system or some kind of processing delay from active crossover or external subwoofer. Then phase is important to get right at the listening position. a room also caused phase changes, that is one way a dip in the response can be made.

[@carlitosgomez71]

What's the best setting for 2x subs in a stereo setting with subs flanking mains forward facing as 0 phase sounds smoother to my ears but at 180 its louder and more pronounced so cant decide which is best

[@hamidrezahabibi8111]

Unfortunately there’s a huge difference between phase and polarity but people use them interchangeably. If you could shed some light 💡 on this issue it’d be nice 👍 And this phase issue is a disease the recording industry had created either because of negligence or lack of knowledge or both. For example in an octet, all the instruments are recorded in-phase and two of the instruments out of phase and we enjoy the music 🎶 anyway. Hopefully 🙏🏼 with the help of bright minds such as yourself we audiophiles will have better recorded music 🎶 😊

[@jeromelang6413]

I wasn't entirely happy with emm labs totl transport and dac, the TX2 and DA2 for about 9 months until I deduced that perhaps somehow, somewhere, absolute polarity was being inverted. Imaging wasn't as clearly outlined and solid as what they should be. Sure enough, I managed to trace it to the transport which supposedly had its polarity switched function already removed but yet, the transport still switched from normal (0 deg) to invert (180 deg) when it got sprayed with the infrared codes from the remote. The worst thing is the polarity does not go back to normal even if the transport is switched off. Emm labs refused to check and rectify this issue. Their excuse - they only sold 50 plus unit, they don't have the time and resources to.... bla bla bla. The transport by itself retails for 25k mind you.

[@keithmoriyama5421]

Phase mostly affects the mid range. Above 5K you cannot hear phase shift because the interval is so damn small. In the bass region it is a lot more complicated because so much of it is room dependant. But in the mid? You'll hear it right away.

[@Oystein87]

Mostly affects the bass freq. But also a but the lower mids.

[@peartfaldo]

Hi Paul. Probably the most important question of all. Can I have those speakers? I have the perfect spot for them;-)

[@finscreenname]

I know Infinity would screw with the phase of the tweeters and mids in a lot of their speakers. .

[@stephenschmitt8630]

I have the SGCD as you know on which you can change the phase. If you can’t really hear the difference like you mentioned then why is it on my SGCD? What is the purpose of it on there? Or how should I be using it or not using it?? Thanks

[@stimpy1226]

A good question today… Bravo! Phase is the question not Accuphase. Let's get by that before you answer.

[@psyphonyxaudio]

PLEASE tell me you are going to bring those to Toronto in a few weeks?!?!?! ... I'll be there to capture a LOT of media for you if so ... Lets' talk!

[@electroimpyo]

I love your channel Paul

[@Metalhead-4life]

Ok now let's talk subwoofer phase??

[@tacofortgens3471]

Low frequency can have it but you wont notice it.

[@hoth2112]

So long as your sub(s) are in-phase with your speakers, that is all that really matters tbh.

[@MrPeeBeeDeeBee]

Why were pre 1990 JBL speakers shipped with reverse polarity?

[@justinmurphy2227]

Oh my gosh phase is so important! Crawl into the car audio world of sound quality competition! By the way Paul I absolutely love everything you've done for the world of high end audio! I'm sponsored by Team JBL Harman Kardon in the car audio sound quality scene. If you ever want to see your equipment in a vehicle at a high end car audio competition, I would be honored! Come on... Let's do a collaboration!

[@bigelile07]

High end car audio....yeah, you can spend a crap load of money on a car audio system but it will never come close to a home audio system. Horrible acoustics.

[@davidfromamerica1871]

You can easily use the PSAudio Sprout amplifier in a vehicle. I could use one in my semi truck if I wanted to. You can install a home system in a RV or Camper easy enough.

[@davidfromamerica1871]

People can spend all kinds of crazy money. 32 million dollar Rolls Royce for instance.😀 Crazy money on mansions, crazy money on home Audio. I couldn’t afford the electricity to power it..😀 kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2fYipqqhJKBeKssi=V4avRqxh_VPb5oDP kzbin.info/www/bejne/fGqVhaCQbLSKa6csi=1111S0_9SdYLKbCA kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZSndmaCi9B0pbcsi=7ll_Jyu1CMXzbBZu kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnq0hZKrf6hki8ksi=35T_QaS7pKgQZimD

[@christianjforbes]

I’ve never heard of Car Audio Quality Competition. SPL … sure, but never have I seen a Quality Comp

[@elderinmoi1571]

It is audible for me if Phase is false with speakers. It is harder to hear wrong phase in your pre amp, or cd player. I can still hear that (sounds harder and „aggressive“ when out of phase sometimes more punchy and more deep and smooth when in phase).

[@joeythedime1838]

I wanted to buy an Accuphase but ended up with a Luxman L-509X because of the exorbitant markup by the distributor. Accuphase was more than twice the Japanese price in the US. I could have ordered two from Japan, even with shipping they would have been less than buying one here.

[@mikeeygauthier2959]

Does changing POLARITY on all your power cords make a difference?

[@hoth2112]

Mains power is AC so its polarity is always switching back and forth. But if you try to connect neutral to hot & vice versa, then you will either blow fuses, or more likely, risk destroying your gear.

[@spacemissing]

@@hoth2112 Reversing hot and neutral won't cause damage to equipment, nor will it blow fuses. Easy proof: anything with a non-polarised plug.

[@hoth2112]

@@spacemissing sure and I'm not talking about those cases. But not every device uses a non-polarized plug

[@DucatiKozak]

Love this!

[@searchiemusic]

3:42 YES! THANK YOU!

[@TS-ex4dl]

I could hear the doppler shift when you were walking around speaking.

[@marcse7en]

PHASE: I've been a Hi-Fi enthusiast for 44 years, and so it's clearly NOT a "phase!" CARPET: The carpet in my flat (UK) / apartment (US), is the SAME as the one in PS Audio's listening room! ... I've listened to different carpets, but grey DEFINITELY sounds best! 🤣

[@Oystein87]

In low freq I REALLY hear if the phase is wrong. If you flip rhe phase 180 degrees on one speaker it is clearly noticable in the bass👀🙈

[@richardsmith2721]

I can hear the phase in my Doug Sax cd. It r÷ally affects imaging.

[@connorduke4619]

Tellurium Q advertises their cables as being designed to reproduce phase accurately. However and whatever they do, their Black series cables are in any case excellent!

[@atzeotze2256]

Tellurium Q cables can reproduce the phase 😂😂😂😂😂 Who is the CEO of this company? Spock (Rip) ?

[@Channel-cm7yc]

Did anyone notice that Paul was selling PS Audio equipment subliminally or was it out of phase. I’m not sure..?🤪🤪 JK- Paul you did absolutely no such thing. 😊😊 You presented very valid information that affects everything we listen to music through! 👍👍

[@artyfhartie2269]

Just check if your speaker cables are connected correctly to the loudspeakers. Red to red etc. Job's done

[@HRHKamal]

Can't agree with Paul. When equipment is wired out of phase, you straightaway know that "something is not right".

[@keithbertschin1213]

Would love to audition those speakers but I only site about 8 feet away, those woofers look too low

[@paulstubbs7678]

Surprised you didn't mention what happens if you flip the phase on just one speaker.

[@tcttvradio]

Terrible cable management, spaghetti junction. Trees should be in the garden. Speakers look like big oil fin heaters.

[@geoff37s38]

If you flip red and black wires on both speakers in a two channel stereo system the speakers are NOT out of phase and there is no audible difference, so I have no idea what Paul’s friend thought he could hear. However, there may be an issue with a sub.

[@tacofortgens3471]

Spwaker cables younwill, interxonnects you just swap left and right channel

[@kenrenaud7846]

This was boring