Phasing?

Windsor · 02-21-2003, 04:48 PM

How do you wire the speakers in phase, or does it matter since they won't really ever be playing a single frequency at the same time?

I'm just generally curious as to how the wiring works.

zippyjuan · 02-21-2003, 11:51 PM

Think of two waves of water coming together. If two waves are in phase and their crests arrive together, they will make a taller wave because they will be added together. If they are out of phase, the crest of one wave will meet the valley of the other wave and they will cancel each other out. The height of the water is the sound volume. If your speakers are not in phase, they may sound muffled or muddy. If you by chance placed the speakers exactly a multiple of half of the wavelength apart, you may experience a similar problem- but only at one frequency rather than the entire spectrum THat is why subwoofers have a phase reversal switch- incase the low frequency is canceled by the placement of the speakers relative to your listening position. That is why the bass can sound louder or softer if you stand in different parts of the same room. In phase speakers start the sound at the exact same moment (if speaker wire lengths are the same) so you get the maximum and best sound from them.
To connect them in phase, make sure that they are wired the same way. One half of the speaker wire should have some sort of marking that the other does not. It doesn't matter which half you use, but make sure that you hook them up the same. For example, you can hook up the printed half to the white connector on the back of your reciever. Then you will want to connect the other printed half to the white connector on the back of your speaker (or it may be silver and gold on the speaker). Then make sure you connect the other speaker in the exact same way. This will ensure they are in phase.

DSummer · 04-09-2003, 12:36 AM

I guess you are talking about the speaker system, not the speaker unit (driver) Zippyjuan explained pretty clear, always +ve to +ve, -ve to -ve. If you are talking about connecting the driver units when build your own speakers, then really depends on the order of your crossovers, but always do the same for both speakers (in pair)

02-21-2003, 04:48 PM	#1
Windsor Commander Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 1,063	Phasing? How do you wire the speakers in phase, or does it matter since they won't really ever be playing a single frequency at the same time? I'm just generally curious as to how the wiring works.

02-21-2003, 11:51 PM	#2
zippyjuan Picture of the Day Guru Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sunny San Diego Posts: 8,756	Think of two waves of water coming together. If two waves are in phase and their crests arrive together, they will make a taller wave because they will be added together. If they are out of phase, the crest of one wave will meet the valley of the other wave and they will cancel each other out. The height of the water is the sound volume. If your speakers are not in phase, they may sound muffled or muddy. If you by chance placed the speakers exactly a multiple of half of the wavelength apart, you may experience a similar problem- but only at one frequency rather than the entire spectrum THat is why subwoofers have a phase reversal switch- incase the low frequency is canceled by the placement of the speakers relative to your listening position. That is why the bass can sound louder or softer if you stand in different parts of the same room. In phase speakers start the sound at the exact same moment (if speaker wire lengths are the same) so you get the maximum and best sound from them. To connect them in phase, make sure that they are wired the same way. One half of the speaker wire should have some sort of marking that the other does not. It doesn't matter which half you use, but make sure that you hook them up the same. For example, you can hook up the printed half to the white connector on the back of your reciever. Then you will want to connect the other printed half to the white connector on the back of your speaker (or it may be silver and gold on the speaker). Then make sure you connect the other speaker in the exact same way. This will ensure they are in phase. __________________ I add new pictures to my photo gallery pretty regularly. You can see them here if you are interested: http://www.pbase.com/jeffryz Last edited by zippyjuan : 02-21-2003 at 11:56 PM.

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04-09-2003, 12:36 AM	#3
DSummer Ensign Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 10	I guess you are talking about the speaker system, not the speaker unit (driver) Zippyjuan explained pretty clear, always +ve to +ve, -ve to -ve. If you are talking about connecting the driver units when build your own speakers, then really depends on the order of your crossovers, but always do the same for both speakers (in pair)

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