Might be interesting.......

[Lowell_M]

I moved my system around a little a month ago. Lately, when listnening to music (2 channel) something just didn't seem right, but I couldn't put my finger on it. The speakers just sounded....thin or something. I am pretty good at convincing myself that I need new ****, so had myself convinced that I should go out and buy that HK AVR645 I have been drooling over.

Well, I finally got my TV repaired last week (CRT pins needed cleaned apparently) and so put in my Ovation video and audio calibration DVD. After setting up the TV I thought i would run through the audio setup as well.....Long story short, I had my front towers polarity reversed. I swaped the wires that were backwards and the system sounds completely different. I had no idea that a polarity issue would cause such a dramatic change in sound. Make sure youve got your +'s and -'s right!

[shack]

Polarity is pretty much audio 101...one of the first things you check when the sound isn't right.

[Lowell_M]

Doh! I didn't even think of it though because I forgot that I had moved speakers around.

Should have ordered the HK anyway...that would have fixed the problem because I would have checked the wires when hooking up the new AVR.

[Lowell_M]

The DVD has a Sub polarity check on it also, but I didn't really get it. Any tips on making sure that phase on the sub is correct? Does anybody have the Sound and Vision (Ovation Software) home Theater tunup disk that could explain what I am listening for in the sub polarity check? I can't really tell a difference, which may be because I don't know what I am listening for.

[MrNightly]

Isn't polarity in its simplest form, red to red, black to black? Or am I WAY off?

[mantis]

Isn't polarity in its simplest form, red to red, black to black? Or am I WAY off?

What if your wires are white and black???

Dan

[Frank Z]

Does anybody have the Sound and Vision (Ovation Software) home Theater tunup disk that could explain what I am listening for in the sub polarity check? I can't really tell a difference, which may be because I don't know what I am listening for.

Basically you hear MOOB, MOOB if the polarity is reversed......

























:D

I'll check my S&V disk later and get back to you.

[Lowell_M]

What if your wires are white and black???

Dan

the position of your sub in the room can effect the phase that cancels with the towers, so with a sub it is not as easy as red/white to red/white.

[jgido759]

Basically you hear MOOB, MOOB if the polarity is reversed......

You got me there, Frank. I had to read this a couple of times before it clicked. :D