Ok, so what does Phase Inversion actually do??

Yo Mdomnick,
To understand Phase, think of a kick drum with a microphone in front of it. When the drummer presses down on the pedal, the beater hits the drum head and a sound wave radiates from the drum to the microphone. The front of the wave causes the mic to move inward and produce a positive signal that when played back should move the cone of a loudspeaker outward toward the listener. If the wires to the spearker are reversed (or the phase is reversed) then the cone will move inward during the drum "beat" and the dynamics of the drumbeat will be changed (diminished). Not all instruments produce sounds that are as phase dependent as drums...organs and woodwinds for instance...but most are thought to sound better if played back "in phase" than "out of phase". Don't think about it too hard or you'll wind up in an "out of phase" condition.

Unless the origianl recording was completely (some parts may be in and others out) in or out of phase it may be quite difficult to distinguish. Audiophile solo recordings are most likely (not guaranteed) to demonstrate the difference. If you were to whistle by blowing and then by sucking (no comments from the peanut gallery, please!) you would hear the equivalent first hand.

I will certainly check the archives, and continue to test. The differences I have heard are definitly subtle to none, but there is something I like about the Phase Inversion with the certain cds. I am anxious to read more...thanks.

m-

after reading the archives I wish I had never asked the question;) Like all things in this dam hobby, listen and set the dial to what you like. I am surprised to hear that studios can and do screw up a recording in so many different ways.

oh well. Thanks again all.

Pardon to continue asking question: Can phase inversion cancel bass freequencies if you use mono woofer?

I have Jeff Rowland equipment and they use a different pin configuration in their balance settings than standard that can cause the phase to be inverted. Speaking with Jeff Rowlands they stated that about half of all the recordings are out of phase anyway and if your preamp has the ability to invert phase you can try it and see what sounds the best to you or change the speaker connections. In my experience I have only heard very subtle if any changes at all.

I have always been under the impression that if you have a phase-inverting preamp, you should correct the phase, either in the IC's or the speaker leads to ensure proper phasing at the output. If you do not do this, the initial impulse of the driver will be to "pull-in" instead of "push-out" when presented with the signal. This has the effect of blunting transient response and dynamic attack. It may soften things, but I can't imagine that it would be percieved as an improvement.

in the professional industry you use not only speakers but microphones as well. if the both speakers in phase thay will interact with microphone adding the signal to each-other and create a wisstling or hum. that's where you realy need the phase inversion.

reverse both pairs of your speaker cables & you'll experience phase inversion - only you can decide which way sounds better to you - but be aware that this is source-material dependent.
Please pursue the forum archives for better descriptions of phase relationships - it's been adequately covered.