Whoa! It's my turn to watch out. I should have said "trumpets and trombones are nearly always hard RIGHT". Sorry about that. Guess we all have trouble telling left from right sometimes! Isn't stereo a wonderful invention. |
Watchout though Kinsekd and others who use orchestras to orientate! Some conductors like to have violins divided to extreme L and R, firsts to the left. In this arrangement the lower strings are centrally placed, often with doublebasses at centre left. Klemperer's recordings frequently show this set-up, and many "authentic" instrument recordings by Norrington etc. But trumpets and trombones are nearly always hard left. |
Lugnut, you are right. Thanks for jogging my brain. The reverse switch on my preamp has nothing to do with the phase. It only reverses the right and left channels. Now, my DAC does have an switch that will invert the phase. So, if it is as simple as I think it is, I should be able to invert the signal at the DAC, wich will inturn get inverted at the preamp, therefore making the signal normal. Thus, I don't have to change the wires at the speakers. I think!!!!!! |
I must be missing something here. My current preamp is phase inverting which require me to swap the connections at the speakers so the drivers move out when they are supposed to rather than be sucked in. (How's that for technical lingo?) That doesn't have anything to do with left and right being correct. Of course, your situation may be different with HT being a part of the package where I'm simply two channel. I've owned a preamp that had a reverse switch which changed channels left and right but I don't recall this being called phase inverting. Could somebody explain a little further? Or, do I already understand this correctly? Thanks. |
Mdomnick, the phase invert on my preamp was set on reverse (for a reason). Sure enough, when I switched back to normal, the trumpet player on the Sting DVD, as mentioned above, came through the right speaker (which is correct). The reason I switched the Invert to reverse in the first place is because an audio dealer told me that the preamp I am using (a modded Musical Design SP1) was designed such that the signal is inverted and for best results I should wire my speakers out of phase. Rather than wire the speakers out of phase, I simply inverted the switch on the preamp. The dealer told me that in order to make the gain path as simple as possible, the design of the SP1 eliminated a stage that causes the signal to become inverted. I have not done any follow up to see if this is actually the case. I simply took his word.
Who would have thought this silly question would have generated such a dilemma??!! 2chnlben |
2chl- I would have to bet that its l and r as viewed from the listener's perspective. |
Not embarrassing at all! Technically, there is no reference standard for left and right! When dealing with a car, we refer to driver's side and passenger's side. In boating, channel markers that indicate right (starboard) are colored red, and left (port) are colored green and should be off of that respective side of the boat, when you are heading INBOUND. These two standards eliminate ANY confusion due to the observer's reference point. Kind of scary that surgeons still refer to body parts as left and right! |
The Phase Invert feature on many preamps was designed for what your hearing. The phase was backwards when recorded. |
Okay, now for the big addmission. I've got what, six or seven cartridge test LP's? Not a single one gets left and right channel to agree with my simple wiring which I know is correct. I eventually looked at a photograph of an orchestra and have hooked it up appropriately ever since. That means that my RCA's are reversed at the phono stage input. Every once in awhile I ponder this but leave well enough alone. I feel better now. What are the other eleven steps? |
No such thing a sa dumb question buddy. Everyone has a brain fart from time to time and cannot figure something out.
Hell, before i had ever seen a Tube amp, it never crossed my mind that they glow.
hahahaha |
Yeah, you would have noticed it a long time ago if you watch any movies at all if you had it wrong - nothing like a car driving from right to left to tell you if you have your speakers connected correctly. |
Okay. I wish I hadn't asked that one! The more I think about it, the more I realize I knew the answer to my own dumb question (how many times has that happened?). I'm getting a little slower with age but, I'm sure I was sharp enough to hook the right and left channels up correctly, even though that was some time ago (haven't had a cable change in a while!)
Thanks. |
I have my own little test. It is as embarassing to me as perhaps your question is to you... but it works.
Pop in a cd of orchestral music. Say, Beethoven's 5th. As you face the speakers, if the violins can be heard coming from the speaker on your left, then you've nailed it. If not, you've got it backwards.
Other than that, I agree with Kr4. Too many videos have inconsistent audio mixes.
Hope this helps. |
The perspective of left and right should be with you facing the speakers.
If you're using the analog outputs on your DVD player then maybe you reversed the left and right channel interconnects going to the receiver... Or it could be as Kr4 suggests, an inconsistent audio mix. |
Nah. You probably have it right. All too many videos have inconsistent audio mixes. |
