L and R channel/Red and White in system chain

Elizabeth, your explanation seems to make sense and takes care of the problem! Thank you.

Bill, I did miss the joke but I'm fully enjoying it now! And I have learned that things are not always black & white...

I think we can lay this post to rest now.

Actusreus,
My comments were tongue in cheek i.e. red and white vs. black and white. I did not mean to take them literally.

When you have to explain a joke, it's a bad joke.

Sorry.

Take a red marker or touch up paint and mark all the right channels as red. Life is too short.

Audiofeil, the manuals for my Soundsmith phono pre and KAB filter are basically one page inserts with not much detail. As someone with an advanced degree, albeit not in science, I feel silly being confused by a seemingly straightforward task, but simply want to make sure the chain is wired correctly. And it is confusing since you can't just connect red terminal to right channel throughout the system. You will have to reverse it at some point because the phono pre marked the left channel black and right channel white, which is apparently opposite on my main amp. Interestingly, the Soundsmith manual (which looks like a Zerox copy) has a black&white picture of the preamp and it looks like the right channel is black and left white, which is the other way around on the actual preamp.

Read the manuals.

It's all there in black and white.

Actusreus, don't let it overwhelm you. Other than the rumble filter, which I don't know, it is simply to see how each of your components should be connected.

Good luck,

Wendell

I know I used to have trouble with R/L for my turntable. I would always play a certain record on which like the male singers were always on the left and the females on the right.---Ok, so I love Ray Conniff. There must be several songs where you know such and such instrument is on say the right channel,no?

1) "L" and "R" marks should have priority over any color coding
2) should there be no marks, in any red & black or red & white combination I have ever encountered red was always "R" (easy to remember by the first letter Red = Right)
3) black & white combinations without marks: read the manual.

I really don't see why you're having such a problem with this.Left and right is still left and right regardless of what color the mfgr. chooses to use.

First, remember that the electronics inside the boxes don't know or care what channel they are marked. They will do the job with equanimity. So, if the colored markings on the phono pre are inconsistent with the other components, simply ignore the colors and use the engraved R as right and L as left (or conversely, ignore the L and R markings and pretend that the black terminal is actually red. This would reverse the engraved markings; but as I say, the phono preamp doesn't care). The rumble filter (I assume KAB) only needs to have the connections consistent on the way in and out--so designate one side as red (R) and one side as white (L) and you are good to go. Finally, just to be sure you've maintained consistency throughout the connections, just listen to some familiar music--if the violin section in an orchestra is coming from the left, for instance, then you've conquered the mountain.