7.9: Polarity and Phase

Understanding Sound From Ear to Engineer · LibreTexts

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    From LibreTexts, under CC BY-SA 4.0, as the source states it; its equations are written in TeX, which the PDF shows typeset. This page at LibreTexts.

    Polarity and Phase

    • Polarity: the positive/negative alignment of wiring. Incorrect polarity causes phase cancellation.
    • Phase: time alignment of sound waves from multiple drivers or speakers. Misaligned phase reduces clarity, weakens bass, and alters stereo imaging.

    Wiring a speaker is done by connecting the positive terminal to the positive connection and the negative terminal to the negative connection. Both speakers in a stereo setup must be wired identically. If one speaker is wired incorrectly (positive to negative and vice versa), polarity problems will occur, causing serious phase cancellation and producing very poor audio quality.

    This page titled 7.9: Polarity and Phase was last modified on Fri, 01 May 2026 02:54:46 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Geoffrey Dunbar.