2. amps-preamps
  3. 150682-134280

Impact of phase inversion by preamp

This will be my first post on this forum so I thought I’d pose a question I’ve always wondered about.  I have a Conrad Johnson Premier 18LS preamp that I’ve been extremely happy with since first acquiring it some years ago.  This is a solid state single ended, single stage design that inverts the phase of the input signal at the output.  The manual states that you should reverse the connections to the speakers to account for this.  Obviously this is easily done but I really can’t see how it would really matter as long as things are connected consistently between the left and right channels.  I’d be interested to hear what others have to say on this subject.
ligjo

Showing 2 responses by cleeds

cleeds
6,072 posts
 
ieales
Nothing is completely passive ... Pull apart a switch and examine the contacts. One set may have a contaminants/wear/geometry that the other does not.
A mechanical switch is a passive component.

I’m sorry that you don’t have any details on the listening test:
... state of the art LA recording studio. Participants were well regarded engineers and IIRC, some industry sales reps. Source was hot-rodded ATR-102 ½" master tape feeding Bryston amp stack and time aligned studio monitors. Test was change or no change. Blind.
Without details, your claim really doesn’t mean much, except perhaps to you.
cleeds
6,072 posts
 
ieales
Nothing is completely passive. The more revealing the circuitry, the more it exposes component ’flaws’.
Semantics. There is passive circuitry, and there is active circuitry. There’s no value in confusing the two.
Experience with phase flip switches in active and passive balanced hardware often left something to be desired in terms of routing and hence inaudibility.
Whose experience? With what hardware?
Decades back it was demonstrated there were distinct sounds in a system on the same source ...
When was that, and by whom? Where was the demonstration, what were the source and other components used?
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