Speaker polarity

[david5253]

Just bought 2 pairs of outdoor "rock speakers". Unfortunately the 2 wires coming out are both black. Is there anyway to identify which is positive and which is negative? Speakers are sealed up and can't be opened. Thanks for any help.

 

[techieman33]

Grab a 9v battery and some alligator clips. If the positive wire causes the cone to push out then it's correct, if it ***** the cone in then your reversed.

 

[Rusty Bolt]

Play a mono source through both speakers - if need be, you can hook both speakers to the same channel.

Put your head between the speakers and listen. Think something like headphones. Listen to where it seems like the sound is coming from. If the sound seems to be in the middle of your head, the speakers are in phase. If the sound image is diffuse, swap the leads on one speaker and try again.

 

[cvairwerks]

One wire should be ribbed...

 

[electroman187]

Polarity likely does not matter for outdoor speakers. Unless you ensure that the listener is equidistant from each speaker, the sounds waves will reach the listener with differing phase anyway due to the relatively slow propagation of sound waves. And that's fine and they can still sound fine. It's no different than a network of ceiling speakers, etc...

 

[laser3kw]

One wire should be ribbed...

^^^^^^
Look carefully at the wire.One "side" of the twin cord will have a rib or other feature that will designate that it is positive.

 

[mike93lx]

Polarity likely does not matter for outdoor speakers. Unless you ensure that the listener is equidistant from each speaker, the sounds waves will reach the listener with differing phase anyway due to the relatively slow propagation of sound waves. And that's fine and they can still sound fine. It's no different than a network of ceiling speakers, etc...

This. Really doesn't matter, but the 9v battery trick mentioned above is they way to confirm, as long as you can see the cone

 

[egdede]

Polarity likely does not matter for outdoor speakers. Unless you ensure that the listener is equidistant from each speaker, the sounds waves will reach the listener with differing phase anyway due to the relatively slow propagation of sound waves. And that's fine and they can still sound fine. It's no different than a network of ceiling speakers, etc...

That's not correct for someone installing patio speakers. Sound moves fast enough to matter in a backyard. Installations in large building ceilings or outdoor stadiums have many interesting issues. In stadiums, the distance between listener and speaker is so far that lower frequencies lag. In any case, speakers should be wired in phase. (Unless you are an artist making wierd out of phase noises on purpose.)

 

[electroman187]

That's not correct for someone installing patio speakers. Sound moves fast enough to matter in a backyard. Installations in large building ceilings or outdoor stadiums have many interesting issues. In stadiums, the distance between listener and speaker is so far that lower frequencies lag. In any case, speakers should be wired in phase. (Unless you are an artist making wierd out of phase noises on purpose.)

Sound does NOT move very fast...343 m/s. A 1kHz soundwave is only 34 cm in length. So if you are 17cm off from being centered between the speakers, then the soundwaves are already 180 degrees out of phase when they hit your ears. This has the same exact effect as wiring out of phase. So do you choose to center yourself so carefully between the speakers when choosing a place to sit? For this reason, sometimes speakers wired out of phase actually sound better depending on the position of the listener.

In an audiophile listening room with wall treatments, proper speaker placement from the walls, etc.. then phase absolutely matters. In close quarters with a very controlled environment, yes phase matters.

I challenge you to do a blind A/B test with matching and mismatched phase in an open backyard with all the regular asymmetric obstacles such as trees, grills, etc... Good luck

 

[david5253]

Thanks for all the responses... been gone all day. I just hooked up the speakers with out regard to polarity. Everyone thinks it sounds fine, me too.

 

[egdede]

I've entered a carpeted apartment with plants, sofa and table, and immediately noticed out of phase speakers. Familiar music won't sound right. Walking closer to one of a pair of in phase speakers alters the sound, but not in the same way.

 

[mike93lx]

Thanks for all the responses... been gone all day. I just hooked up the speakers with out regard to polarity. Everyone thinks it sounds fine, me too.

 

[strutaeng]

This is interesting about polarity for outdoor speakers. When I have wired the polarity wrong, the bass seems to sound flat. If you look at speakers one is pushing in and the other is pulling out; therefore, the sound waves cancel out each other. I don't recall having any effect on the higher frequencies. This is all indoor environment.

You can test this by moving the balance of the speakers from left to right. When one speaker is playing you hear bass, but as both play the bass "disappears."

I've got some outdoor speakers hanging from my garage overhangs...time to do some tinkering!

 

[Mr. T]

I’d agree that even if you hook it up “backwards” you probably won’t notice in this situation (not EVERY situation).

However, if the polarity of the hookup isn’t clearly marked I’d be more worried about the overall quality of the speaker than the polarity.

 

[exmaxima1]

I’d agree that even if you hook it up “backwards” you probably won’t notice in this situation (not EVERY situation).

However, if the polarity of the hookup isn’t clearly marked I’d be more worried about the overall quality of the speaker than the polarity.

I'm sure they are some low-grade outdoor speakers, and nothing to worry about.

 

[rburke65]

Well as long as you think it sounds great you can move on to the next problem

 

[Zeke]

Thanks for all the responses... been gone all day. I just hooked up the speakers with out regard to polarity. Everyone thinks it sounds fine, me too.

You had a 50/50 chance.

 

[laser3kw]

You had a 50/50 chance.

but only on one speaker

 

[electroman187]

This is interesting about polarity for outdoor speakers. When I have wired the polarity wrong, the bass seems to sound flat. If you look at speakers one is pushing in and the other is pulling out; therefore, the sound waves cancel out each other. I don't recall having any effect on the higher frequencies. This is all indoor environment.

You can test this by moving the balance of the speakers from left to right. When one speaker is playing you hear bass, but as both play the bass "disappears."

I've got some outdoor speakers hanging from my garage overhangs...time to do some tinkering!

Yes, the polarity is much more likely to affect the bass and sub-bass frequencies. Lower frequencies become omni-directional, have much longer wavelengths and become more sensitive to polarity.

 

[Citation]

A few years back I reconed some older Infinity speakers. These were speakers I hadn't listened to in many years. So I set them up and was rather disappointed with the base. I played with settings on the stereo and at one point either unplugged one speaker or set the balance to one side and boom, there was the base! The funny thing was the stereo didn't sound like the speakers were out of phase. Well the tweeters weren't. In the process of reconnecting the reconed woofer I plugged it in wrong. Since the tweeters were right the imaging didn't sound obviously out of phase but the base was just like anti-noise, just plain missing. In this test case the speakers were only, perhaps 4 feet apart so interference was a real issue.

Anyway, for the OP this is really easy to check. Reverse the wires on one speaker and see if it sounds better or worse.