Out Of Phase Speakers

[walkychalky 10+ year member]

What does it mean when your speakers are out of phase?......what does it do compared to speakers being in phase?....just curious because i see some people talk about wiring speakers out of phase

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[thch 10+ year member]

with just 1 speaker it does little.

with 2 speakers, 1 in phase, 1 out of phase the speakers will fight each other instead of helping. the sound will get quiet instead of loud.

 

[tplaya07 10+ year member]

Short answer: It can change the imaging/soundstage characteristics to make your speakers "blend" better, or become more defined.

Long answer:

http://forum.elitecaraudio.com/showthread.php?threadid=97540

 

[walkychalky 10+ year member]

well someone told me today that my 2 subs were hooked up to my amp out of phase......and i should reverse them......does it matter?...will it make any audible difference?

 

[tplaya07 10+ year member]

My bad. I thought you were referring more to speakers. If the two subs are out of phase, that's a different story. The subs will most likely sound extremely low in volume, if any sound at all. Take the subs out and make sure they are wired correctly.

 

[tplaya07 10+ year member]

Subs can be out of phase with the rest of the system, but not out of phase with each other, unless isobarikly (sp??) mounted in a push-pull configuration.

What subs and amp do you have? What kind of box? And what voice coil configuration are the subs?

 

[jujumantb 10+ year member]

If your subs were out of phase WITH EACHOTHER, then one would be pushing out while the other sucked in. This would sound VERY quiet, they would effectively cancel eachother out. You would definitly know if they were out of phase with eachother. If they are out of phase with you other speakers, it doesnt mean much considering they are not on the same plane and are probably far away. The only audible places this is apparant is in the low midbass where your sub and other speakers are playing the same material. You could always try reversing your subs polarity and see if it changes the sound, some amps even have a 'reverse phase' button or variable knob (0-180degrees) on them so you dont have to manually rewire the subs.

 

[jujumantb 10+ year member]

but not out of phase with each other

uhh, yes they can. If you have two subs in a box and you accidentally wired one + to + and - to - but the other + to - and + to -, one would push out while the other sucked in... making them out of phase with eachother.

 

[bizzy07 10+ year member]

If the subs are wired seperatly to the amp just switch the pos+ and neg- on one sub and see if it sounds better if it doesnt then they werent out of phase. When I hooked mine up at first it was out of phase, there was barely any sound at all once I switched the pos+ and neg- around sounded 10x louder.

 

[tplaya07 10+ year member]

uhh, yes they can. If you have two subs in a box and you accidentally wired one + to + and - to - but the other + to - and + to -, one would push out while the other sucked in... making them out of phase with eachother.

Im not completely understanding what your saying. Are you just talking about wiring subs in series, or out of phase from one another?

 

[jujumantb 10+ year member]

Im not completely understanding what your saying. Are you just talking about wiring subs in series, or out of phase from one another?

out of phase from one another. like when you wire one sub in reverse polarity form the other, it will be moving in the opposite way at all times.

 

[bizzy07 10+ year member]

Do you have a mono block amp or stereo briged, or do you have them wired seperately in stereo?

 

[walkychalky 10+ year member]

Subs can be out of phase with the rest of the system, but not out of phase with each other, unless isobarikly (sp??) mounted in a push-pull configuration.What subs and amp do you have? What kind of box? And what voice coil configuration are the subs?

i have 2 RE SX 15's (dual 4 ohm) powered by an orion 2500d wired down to a 1 ohm load in a ~7 cube box tuned to 32 Hz

 

[bizzy07 10+ year member]

Take the subs out and make sure they are wired correctly.

x2

 

[tplaya07 10+ year member]

out of phase from one another. like when you wire one sub in reverse polarity form the other, it will be moving in the opposite way at all times.

OK. I guess Im just not understanding your point. My statement that you initially quoted was basically the same thing you said in your first sentence, isn't it? Or am I missing something you are saying?

A sub out of phase with another subs will likely cause cancellation and minimal volume levels (unless isobarik push-pull configuration). Yet both subs can be out of phase with the rest of the speakers in the system.