Speaker polarity

I have checked my speaker cables for polarity and it is right but my AV receiver Denon 2311 says check for centre and surround

Tauseef Malik -
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  • 0
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    Audyssey Labs

    Hi Stephen,

    Totally random coincidence.  Is the LSurr speaker facing a different space than the RSurr?  Sometimes that can cause this.  This is just a warning: if you've checked the wiring then you can skip.  The most important part of Audyssey, the filter calculation, totally ignores this info.  

  • 0
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    omkar

    hi chris,  i ran the 2EQ setup on my onkyo 607, it come up with 40hz for ALL fronts-B&W604,centre-b&w lcr60 and surround- whalfdale 9.5 speakers and 120hz for LFE.    should i change any of these setting too?  as i my fronts seam to bassy .      thank you chris

  • 0
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    Audyssey Labs

    If Audyssey found 40 Hz as the roll off then that is what's happening in your room with this speaker placement.  You can change it if you like.  It won't have any effect on the 2EQ filters.

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    Peter

    Hi Chris,

    Glad to find a place for authoritative answers.  Some opinions on AVSForums get confusing!

    I have an Onkyo SC-5508 prepro with XT32.  I have found that, with playing music, I am having a phase issue.  There are no phase warnings when I calibrate (you have said Onkyo doesn't have them).  Connecting source to pre/pro by HDMI, relative phase is reversed when playing with Aud EQ (Stereo mode) and when playing in Direct mode.  If I reverse one speaker's +/- leads, it becomes in phase.  However, when I play my source into a standalone DAC then analog into the Onkyo, I get correct phase in Direct mode and reversed when in Stereo!  (I am testing phase with a test disc).

    It seems there may be an issue with the speakers phase wiring themselves, but it is puzzling that I get what seems like inconsistent results when playing through the DAC.

    Can you make any sense of this and/or offer any suggestions?

    Thanks.......Peter

  • 0
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    Gary R. Hafer

    Chris,

    Could a polarity warning be generated if the wiring in XLR interconnects is wrong--hot/cold/neutral. That really cannot happen with RCA interconnects.

    I recently added XLRs as interconnects between preamp and two amps, replacing my RCAs on all but my fronts, which are bi-amped. Running Audyssey XT32 setup now shows all XLR connected speakers as having phase errors except the right height speaker, even though it is also using an XLR interconnect.

    I know you've stressed the polarity issue is just a warning to check speaker connections, but what about the XLR interconnects that really cannot be easily or harmlessly checked?

     

    Gary

  • 0
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    Audyssey Labs

    Hi Gary,

    Yes, it can absolutely happen. Keep in mind that there are actually two (!) XLR standards.  Hollywood and postproduction studios typically use pin 2 hot XLRs (based on the European original standard).  Some, however, use pin 3 hot XLRs.  So, if your cables and the connectors on the preamp use a different pin for "hot" then you will get this warning.  If all speakers have it then it's the same as being in-phase.

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    Gary R. Hafer

    Chris,

    So in one method--the European--pin 2 is hot? I had these cables made to the European standard, and I want to make sure they're right. That's what Marantz is requiring. But how do I determine which is pin 2? Don't the ends of the cable "face" one another? This is so confusing!

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    Audyssey Labs

    Pin 2 is the same on all connectors.  The question is what signal is being sent to pin 2 in the preamp and what does the amp expect.  My suspicion is that amp is interpreting pin 2 as the negative signal and the preamp as the positive.  It's really not a problem if all speakers are showing opposite polarity.  Polarity is relative so all that matters is that they are in phase with each other.

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    Gary R. Hafer

    Chris,
    Just one more round, I promise.

    That not all my speakers register a phase error during Audyssey calibration shows I do have a problem. When I attach an ohmmeter to pin 1 at both ends of the cable, I see a short, as expected. But when I connect pin 3 at both ends, not so; in fact, 2 and 3 seem reversed at each end. Time for the soldering iron, no?

  • 0
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    Audyssey Labs

    Yes, it looks like your cables were not properly made... The pin reversal you are seeing would cause a polarity flip.

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