Rigging speakers...

adaffme149 · Feb 17, 2009

So, I was rigging speakers for use with my computer. I got bored, and now have wired up 6 speakers to my desktop (And a subwoofer.) Does it matter how the red/black wires (there's one red and one black, for each speaker) are connected? I realize that reversing the two will reverse the pin and surrounding portion of the jack, but will it matter? It seems to be playing just fine, and I don't feel like un-soldering wires... Should I go back and make sure none of them are switched over? (I've done it this way for years...)
Don't tear into me too bad for this post. I'm not up for proper terminology right now... Too tired.

Hans · Feb 17, 2009

yes it matters.. Red= positive terminal Black= negative terminal.. need to connect these properly for proper signal flow.. when not hooked up properly you will get some signal cancellation and in turn you will reverse the phase of your speakers, which is bad.

babibear · Feb 17, 2009

Hans said:
yes it matters.. Red= positive terminal Black= negative terminal.. need to connect these properly for proper signal flow.. when not hooked up properly you will get some signal cancellation and in turn you will reverse the phase of your speakers, which is bad.

Yes, exactly what Hans said. Having the polarity reversed will actually cancel out output from other nearby speakers. You would probably find the the 'sound stage' or spacial stereo characteristics (imagining) would be quite reduced as well.

Jon · Feb 17, 2009

speakers out of phase are really annoying. I'm an audio producer, and phasing makes a HUUUGE difference in both recording and listening. The key is to make sure that you connect all the speakers the same. Another thing to consider is that the phase (polarity) or your subwoofer should be determined by how you have it placed in the room, and relative to the other speakers you're using. Feel free to hit me up for anything audio related.

~jon

Hendrix · Feb 17, 2009

hmmm, actually it doesnt really matter where the sbwoofer goes. Low frequencies dont get absorbed as easily as high frequencies. Thats why when you go to a gig with a short throiw system the bass bin is on the floor and the tweeters are above head height.

adaffme149 · Feb 17, 2009

I know it will reverse the polarity if you reverse wires (I know about electronics, not really hooking up audio, though.) My question is, as long as it SOUNDS okay, is it okay to leave? As in, bottomline, it won't damage the equipment, right? I'm not a really big audiophile, and I figure as long as it makes halfway decent sound, it's good for me (I'm still using the intergrated (5.1) audio on my motherboard =) )

The actual setup is as such:

:SPK: :SWFR: :SPK:
:SPK: ______ :SPK:
:SPK: :MNTR: :SPK:

:SPK: = Speaker
:SWFR: = Subwoofer
:MNTR: = Monitor

Sorry for the crappy drawing.

andysetra · Feb 17, 2009

It's not going to wreck anything if that's your question... but I personally find "out of phase" speaker setups to sound flat and awful. However, if it sounds good to you, rock on!

I would just double check they're all wired correctly so that you get the best possible sound . Perhaps it could sound more full than you realize

adaffme149 · Feb 17, 2009

Haha. An explosion is an explosion to me, and a song is a song. I'm pretty sure I did wire them correctly, but I was just making sure it wasn't damaging if I didn't. And if it drowns out my mom's nagging, it's plenty good enough.