The concept of absolute phase is actually quite basic.
A simple example: you're making a live recording of an amplified band. After the signal goes through all the cabling, processes, & other equipment (including your own) what you should hear is the same phase as was originally captured by the recording microphone. This means that when the speaker cone of the originating source moves outward toward the listener in the studio, your own speaker cone at home should be moving in the same direction. If it's the opposite direction, that is being caused by a phase inversion somewhere along the way. An odd number of circuit stages could cause this, or even a miswired balanced-line cable somewhere along the way (the inverting & non-inverting paths were crossed).
Some preamps have an inversion button feature (like mine) & there is a definite difference in sound between inverted phase & not. Your ears will tell you the preferred phase for any particular recording, but you can't really rely on that approach to decide the best way to wire your speakers because it varies from one recording to another. There are some test records available, & probably some CD's as well, that have a phase test track which will help you decide the correct phase if in doubt.
A simple example: you're making a live recording of an amplified band. After the signal goes through all the cabling, processes, & other equipment (including your own) what you should hear is the same phase as was originally captured by the recording microphone. This means that when the speaker cone of the originating source moves outward toward the listener in the studio, your own speaker cone at home should be moving in the same direction. If it's the opposite direction, that is being caused by a phase inversion somewhere along the way. An odd number of circuit stages could cause this, or even a miswired balanced-line cable somewhere along the way (the inverting & non-inverting paths were crossed).
Some preamps have an inversion button feature (like mine) & there is a definite difference in sound between inverted phase & not. Your ears will tell you the preferred phase for any particular recording, but you can't really rely on that approach to decide the best way to wire your speakers because it varies from one recording to another. There are some test records available, & probably some CD's as well, that have a phase test track which will help you decide the correct phase if in doubt.