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In Reply to: RE: Whatever happened to the "perfect polarity pundit"? posted by genungo on August 28, 2014 at 09:54:25
I did not agree with George Louis' assessment that most CDs were produced with inverted absolute polarity.
But then again, I often blamed "inverted polarity" on certain recordings for what turned out to be shortcomings in my audio systems. On a good system, inverted polarity is not the major sonic flaw that I once thought it was.
Follow Ups:
Wouldn't it depend on how your system is set in its polarity?
"Wouldn't it depend on how your system is set in its polarity?"
The bottom line: Is the acoustic "direction" from the performers the same as that from the speakers in the end-user's system? (For example, is the air is pushed out from a drum strike presented as the air pushed out from the end-user's speakers? If the speakers produce the signal by pulling back air, then the presentation is inverted.) The recording process and end user's system have inverted the signal a total of x number of times. As long as "x" is an even number, the listener will be served the signal in its original non-inverted state. But if "x" is an odd number, then the listener will be served the signal inverted relative to the original state.
If you break down the whole process to the recording process (call it x1) and user's system (call it x2), ideally, x1 and x2 are both even numbers. A non-inverted recording and a non-inverting system. But if that non-inverting system plays an inverted recording (which do exist), the end user will have to temporarily change x2 to an odd number (usually by reversing the +/- polarity of the wires at the amp or speakers) in order to take in the recorded performers with correct non-inverting polarity.
I find as I have improved my set-up it is EASIER to know when the polarity is wrong.
Takes about 15 seconds, wish I could detect quicker.
Biggest change these days is in the width - though I wonder if it is not vocals that give me the initial clue.
Some records are less tolerant of incorrect polarity that others. There are more than a few that when played my initial thinking is "this is not a very good recording" only to change the polarity and find it enjoyable.
Of course, the key to enjoying the change is having an easy way to switch. My thanks to John Broskie for his easy to implement polarity switch.
After all these years, I've become so used to the flaw, it doesn't bother me like it once did. I guess I developed a tolerance for inverted audio playback.
15 seconds is a very commendable time. In fact compared to most 15 seconds is a eon faster.
As for vocals. remember in English, at least we have basically five vowels and a lot more consonant sounds, some of which have very small audio differences. I always point out the difference between saying P and saying B. The difference is only the slightly more explosive attack on the P but can make a huge difference in meaning. An out of polarity signal will make the P sound like a B.
On a system that I can notice it, I can pick up inverted polarity after several minutes, but no less.... (In contrast to Auto-Tune, which I can notice in as little as three seconds.) And even there, I'd need to confirm it by changing the polarity, then replaying the track.
Will differ of course, but for me fine detail and musical nuances are hopelessly smeared when played back out of absolute polarity. Even Atkinson says only 20 models from 5 manufacturers meet close to ideal phase alignment.
of course YMMV.
I was lucky, i was weened on Spicas , Quad 57's...,
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