As most of you know, I'm new to car audio.

I have a mono amp with the usual knobs, gain, "Bass Boost", "Crossover", whatever...

It also has a knob for a "Phase" Setting that goes from 0-180...

I've been reading the how-tos on tuning the amp gains, but none mention the PHASE setting.

What is it? Why's it there? & Why do I notice a difference in sound when I change it?

Oh, and what should it be set to?


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Quote:

Okay for those of you not so into the car audio scene here is the problem: You have your subwoofer(s) in the trunk of your car, and usually the amplifier(s) as well. When listening to high quality audio you want as much of the sound coming from the front speakers to give you a good sound stage. The sub will sound like its coming from the front due to the non-directional nature of low frequency sine waves (bass!). However, for the discerning listeners, phase adjustment is necessary to make the sine waves from the sub come out a little sooner than the sound in the front speakers.

The problem is that most amplifiers dont have a continuous phase adjustment (some do, but they are usually $$ and hard to set correctly). A phase adjustment circuit is however extremely simple, comprising of only an op-amp or two and some resistance and capacitance values which determine the exact phase angle. SO heres the plan:

The RCA cables coming from the cd player to the amplifier in the boot running the sub can be bought in specific lengths which you will buy that are the same length as the distance between the sub and front speakers. This cable can be made to easily have an inherent resistance or capacitance associated with it (eg. 10 ohms per metre or something like that) and at the end of the cable a little box with the phase adj. circuit in it.

This would mean that if you want perfectly phased subs, all you need to do is buy a length of this special cable, and either DIY attach the RCA plugs and circuit box, or have it made up for you at your local car audio store.

It is so simple, and there are so many car audio fanatics out there who would jump at the opportunity to buy a high quality product like this. Best of all it could be made for barely more than the cost of a normal RCA cable, which you are usually forced into buying a length to long or too short for your needs.

Ummm.... ok..

Quote:

phase adjustment is necessary to make the sine waves from the sub come out a little sooner than the sound in the front speakers.

This answered my question... So it sounds fine... Do I leave it alone??


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My Car Website
http://www.theallin1der.com

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yea

With most common amps, your phase setting actually reverses the polarity of the wattage going to your sub. This function is for inverted subwoofer setups. All it does is reverse the excursion, equivalent to switching the + and - terminals on the sub.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Saturday, October 11, 2008 5:50 PM

Oh... understood. FINALLY. lol
pilz-E FTW




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My Car Website
http://www.theallin1der.com

My Cardomain Page
http://cardomain.com/ride/3108332

its for phase, depending on the length of the speaker to the listener, the frequency and size of car its in even though you wired the speaker in phase, the sound can reach your ears out of phase. youlle find allot of sq guys when testing and tuning will start flipping the polarity of individual mids and highs to see how it effects the sound.



this doesnt need to be difficult. put some clean sounding music in and listen, then flip the switch and have a listen again, stick with the setting that sounds best.


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