Home General Asylum

General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

Re: Now This Is Really Interesting.....

After reading through all the posts, the first thing to cross my mind hasn't been mentioned yet . . .

It would be interesting to see if some of the software/hardware you guys are using is inverting the polarity of the file or not. I'm not talking about phase, I'm talking about truly inverting the entire signal. This will make a bigger difference between two different versions of the same recording than you think. A lot of people won't notice it until they hear the music come out of their speakers the correct polarity, and a lot of people also will not notice it because most commercially available CD players invert.

Supposedly, a lot of computers invert as well. I've read that my PowerMac G5 inverts, but I'm not sure if the author was referring to the sound output, or CDs burned on the drive. I'm guessing sound out was what he meant, because most CDs I've burned in iTunes seem to be correct polarity, because I have to use the "invert" switch on my preamp. If the previous sentence doesn't make sense, it's because I know my CD player inverts. So, correct polarity CD in the player (an NAD 5000), is inverted going into the preamp (a Parasound P/LD 1500), and the preamp is capable of inverting the signal, so what comes out of the speakers is correct.

What difference does it make? Timbres are a LOT more correct, timing is generally a lot better, and it seems like there is at least an extra octave of bass extension. If an inverted signal is coming out of the speakers, it will be more noticable in lower-pitched sounds.

If your preamp won't allow you invert signals, you can always play with connecting your speaker wires "backwards" to find out what is going on with your system.

BT


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Kimber Kable  


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups


You can not post to an archived thread.