As I mentioned, absolute phase can be debated to infinity, and we are not going to come to an agreement. Obviously if the recording's phase is inverted there is an issue, bla, bla bla. Yes, we know!
BUT! A coherent phase within a single system is a must, and is not a matter of debate. So, here are some scenarios where you would definitely want to know that the absolute phase of the entire rig is kept from the source onwards.
- In order to connect line-level outputs from a RECEIVER into the ST-10 for main speakers and to a cheaper one for surrounds.
- If you are using a DAC-10 balanced outputs into the ST-10 and the RCA outputs into another AMP to gain another zone, or sub-woofer capabilities
- When using, for example, the ST-10 to drive the tweeters of a pair of speakers and another amp for the woofers
We know these are setups a lot of people use. I am doing the second one. So... it's very important to know the correct absolute phase position, not because of some inexplicable audio magic going on... but because if more than one AMP comes into play, you want positive current to drive all the speakers in the correct direction. This is physics and math, its not obscurantism or magic electrons.