Positive-Negative On BInding Posts


I haven't been able o listen to my stereo due to my parents being ill.About 2 years ago I remove the speaker that was being used and I just went to set my system back up and there aren't any indicators showing which post is positive or negative. No red ring etc.
I have a pair of IMF 80'S. I sent my amps away a month ago to get upgraded and didn't notice the problem with until I went to hookup the new speaker cables.I checked On Line but no info or pictures of the rear of the speakers. Can someone help me ?

Thanks
Bill
phillysound001
As long as your speakers are in phase with each other it will sound like it should.

Polarity DOES matter to those that can hear it.

In pop music, IF a live drummer is used, the kick is often recorded without the outer head or with a hole in the outer head for the microphone. This generates a positive pressure in phase with the beater head contact thwack.

On a system with reverse polarity the kick sucks in on the initial hit and it is clearly audible.

Electronics are less of a problem today than in the past when they were sometimes inverting.

That being said, there is no guarantee that the source material is polarity correct.

The best one can do is ensure one's system is polarity correct and hope for the best. Or flip polarity, determine which sounds better and mark the source, adjusting as necessary. All in all, a PITA

Get a 1.5 volt battery and use this trick. When the woofer pushes out, the positive of the battery is connecting to the positive of the speaker. If the woofer pulls in, then the positive of the battery is connecting to the negative of the speaker.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u_C9M-rvbWA


The above answers assume the loudspeakers are internally wired the same.  To test, wire both loudspeaker the same and play a mono recording.  The sound image should sound narrow and located midway between the loudspeakers.  If the image is diffuse you should flip the connections on a single loudspeaker.
As long as you hook up the same amp channels to the corresponding binding post the same way on each speaker it shouldn’t matter.  For example, if you hook up positive on the amp to the top (or left) binding post on one speaker, do it the same way on the other.  

As long as your speakers are in phase with each other it will sound like it should. 
It shouldn’t matter as little no as you wire up both speakers the same way, ie connect left side to black and right side to red on both speakers