Set Phase 0 or 180 on the sub?

[Gizmo99]

Not sure what setting to set on my sub. 0 or 180? Both sound about the same. But I was reading a customer review on LSI15 from polkaudio.com that I should set the phase on my sub to 180 if I am paring it up with the LSI15

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

[Face]

Whatever sounds better. The only way to know for sure is with test tones and a SPL meter.

[dustradio]

Tried Them Both With The Results You Descrbed. I Cant Tell Any Differance! 30.30 Standing By

[Erik Tracy]

Hmm - not sure what else to suggest here.

When I first set up my sub, I tried both 0 and 180 as well.

At first I had to listen carefully - because I could "hear" the bass in either position, but ended up going 0 as I noticed that the overall sound was "full" from top to bottom.

Hard to describe - but with the 180 setting - there seemed to be a hole in the sound spectrum. Sure, the bass seemed there, but it just felt like there was a full wall of sound feeling from top to bottom when set at 180.

Have another try at a listening test.

Cheers

[wingnut4772]

Hmm - not sure what else to suggest here.

When I first set up my sub, I tried both 0 and 180 as well.

At first I had to listen carefully - because I could "hear" the bass in either position, but ended up going 0 as I noticed that the overall sound was "full" from top to bottom.

Hard to describe - but with the 180 setting - there seemed to be a hole in the sound spectrum. Sure, the bass seemed there, but it just felt like there was a full wall of sound feeling from top to bottom when set at 180.

Have another try at a listening test.

Cheers

Trying the sub alone will not give you the same results as trying the phase as it plays with your other speakers. Its all about the timing and cancellations with the other speakers...


Get some bass heavy movies and replay scenes while adjusting the phase and see which sounds better. It's preferable to have another turn the knob while you are in the sweet spot if you can find a volunteer.

[ShinAce]

Take a "AA" battery and connect the positive to the positive on the subwoofer terminals(I assume you can get between the sub amp and speaker wires), then do the same test on the mains. If both woofers 'pop' outwards, the set the phase to 0. If one pops out and the other pops in, then set the phase to 180.

Otherwise, find some material that's mostly bass around the crossover frequency and use the phase setting that gives you the loudest overall response.

[Face]

Take a "AA" battery and connect the positive to the positive on the subwoofer terminals(I assume you can get between the sub amp and speaker wires), then do the same test on the mains. If both woofers 'pop' outwards, the set the phase to 0. If one pops out and the other pops in, then set the phase to 180.That isn't always true. Placement can affect this.

[Erik Tracy]

Trying the sub alone will not give you the same results as trying the phase as it plays with your other speakers. Its all about the timing and cancellations with the other speakers...


Get some bass heavy movies and replay scenes while adjusting the phase and see which sounds better. It's preferable to have another turn the knob while you are in the sweet spot if you can find a volunteer.

Never said just the sub alone - sorry my bad if that's the way it came across.

I meant to say WITH your fronts :o

[wingnut4772]

Never said just the sub alone - sorry my bad if that's the way it came across.

I meant to say WITH your fronts :o

Oh OK. Well carry on....:)

[Ron Temple]

Generally, if the sub is in the front soundstage, 0 will put you in phase with your speakers. If the sub is located elsewhere, then adjusting the phase might be beneficial.

[organ]

Hmm - not sure what else to suggest here.

When I first set up my sub, I tried both 0 and 180 as well.

At first I had to listen carefully - because I could "hear" the bass in either position, but ended up going 0 as I noticed that the overall sound was "full" from top to bottom.

Hard to describe - but with the 180 setting - there seemed to be a hole in the sound spectrum. Sure, the bass seemed there, but it just felt like there was a full wall of sound feeling from top to bottom when set at 180.

Have another try at a listening test.

Cheers


+1 Took me a while and I hear the same thing. I think the "hole" you described is the result of frequency cancellations. The sound wave from the woofer cancel when they meet the opposite wave from the speakers.

[zingo]

Phase is pretty important when playing with multiple subwoofer that face each other, or any speaker that faces subwoofers because you get canceling effects and other weird things. A good thing to think about is if you have two subs facing each other, the waves would be hitting each other and be destructive. However, if you turned the phase on ONE of the subs, then they would be outputing waves in the same direction.