[glynnw]

I am restarting a topic that had come up in an earlier thread about the balance control - that is the question of whether changes in polarity (or absolute phase) are noticeable. I said I was willing to try to hear a difference and set out to somehow install a polarity switch in my system.  I thought it would be easy - I simply re-soldered a pair of interconnects reversing the polarity at one end.  Long story short, there was noticeable hum and grunge and the out of polarity interconnects either carried no signal, just noise in one system or carried the signal with loud hum in another.  Troubleshooting the cable showed no problems.  Obviously what I thought was simple is not.  Any suggestions?

[Doublej]

If you just swapped the wire at one end of the interconnect you did not invert polarity but connected the signal on one end to the ground on the other end. See http://connector.pinoutguide.com/2_pin_RCA_plug/

Swapping the speaker wires on either end (amplifier or speaker terminals) will reverse the polarity of the signal. Or you can use the rare preamp that has a polarity switch. Also there may be playback software that has a polarity inversion function.

I have been told that absolute polarity is most noticeable with speakers have minimum phase crossovers. I believe this is most typically a first order crossover.

[tortugaranger]

If you just swapped the wire at one end of the interconnect you did not invert polarity but connected the signal on one end to the ground on the other end. See http://connector.pinoutguide.com/2_pin_RCA_plug/

Swapping the speaker wires on either end (amplifier or speaker terminals) will reverse the polarity of the signal. Or you can use the rare preamp that has a polarity switch. Also there may be playback software that has a polarity inversion function.

I have been told that absolute polarity is most noticeable with speakers have minimum phase crossovers. I believe this is most typically a first order crossover.

What he said.

You can't achieve reversal on singled-ended  (unbalanced systems) doing what you did but you can by swapping the wires to the speakers which is woefully inconvenient to do and next to impossible to do in real-time within some very heavy duty custom relay boxes but I wouldn't advise trying that at  all ever.

[kernelbob]

The difference between the "correct" and "incorrect" absolute phase/polarity of a recording on a system is easily heard.  The important thing to understand is that it's a crapshoot as to the absolute phase of any recording.  It is not a matter of your system's absolute phase/polarity alone.

To me, it is essential that a system's absolute phase can be toggled from a remote at the listening position.  If you have to get up, walk over to the components to flip a switch, then by the time you get back to the listening position, your short term memory will probably not retain an accurate description of the difference.  However, as you get more familiar with how the sound differs between correct and incorrect absolute phase presentation, you'll find that you can identify whether a recording is correctly set without even having to toggle the setting.  By that time, you'll still be glad that you don't have to constantly walk up to the component rack and make the correction, if it's needed.

To those who say that you can correct absolute phase/polarity by switching the leads of the speaker cables, I think they have a misunderstanding that absolute phase correction is a "once and done" thing.  I'm amused that manufacturers of preamps, amps, DACs, phono stages, etc. always publish in their component's specs that their equipment is "noninverting".  This is the most irrelevant spec possible, since the root problem is that there has never been a standard for recordings' absolute phase.  Sometimes it even changes from one track to another.

One other essential for phase/polarity control is that the signal paths of the two modes must be exactly equivalent.  If the "inverted" setting is accomplished by sending the signal through another switch, additional wiring, an an extra stage, then the simpler signal path will almost always sound better.

The design of the Tortuga absolute phase/polarity control is extremely elegant and adds no additional complexity to the signal path.  The purity of sound of the Tortuga allows the improvement in bass power & extension, flatter frequency response, imaging, and timbre to be obvious with the correct absolute phase selection.

It's really that simple.  If you are purchasing a Tortuga LDRxB-V2, you will one day regret not having Morten install the absolute phase/polarity option.

Best,
Robert

[kernelbob]

To Doublej,

for what it's worth, my speakers (VonSchweikert VR100XS) use pseudo fourth order crossovers.  I'm biamping them, using a Tortuga LDRxB-V2 as the main controller and a Tortuga LDR1B as the attenuator ahead of the bass amp for level matching (it's great to be able to tweak the bass level from one recording to correct thin or fat recordings).

Best,
Robert

[Russell Dawkins]

If the interconnect cable is twin conductor shielded, you can invert polarity between unbalanced circuits. Float the shield at one end and, with blue and white as an example, blue to pin on one end and white to ring and white to pin on the other end, blue to ring. As long as the shield, which in this case is not used to conduct the signal, is connected to the ring at one end but not the other, you are good to go with an inverted polarity signal between ends.

[kernelbob]

If the interconnect cable is twin conductor shielded, you can invert polarity between unbalanced circuits. Float the shield at one end and, with blue and white as an example, blue to pin on one end and white to ring and white to pin on the other end, blue to ring. As long as the shield, which in this case is not used to conduct the signal, is connected to the ring at one end but not the other, you are good to go with an inverted polarity signal between ends.

So how do you switch absolute polarity when the next recording is inverted relative to the one you used to set your "system" polarity?

[Russell Dawkins]

So how do you switch absolute polarity when the next recording is inverted relative to the one you used to set your "system" polarity?

That's where it starts to get complicated  and can vary enormously. Depending on the system configuration it can be done at speaker level, line level or in the digital domain and ideally with a remote control so it can be tested from your listening position.

When I feel inclined, I do it on my Metric Halo interface in my studio, but don't bother in our home system and for casual listening. My wife couldn't care less and I don't bother about it, either. It certainly doesn't interfere with my enjoyment of music in the car, for example.