Well, polarity is a complex issue. Some people are sensitive to it, some are not. In a well recorded material, where relative polarity of all tracks is maintained, inverted polarity at playback is heard as lack of ambiance and pace in the mid-bass.
However, most material is not recorded in such a fashion. Often different tracks have different polarity and final polarity of the master is either "in-phase" or "out-of-phase" with the original event.
Therefore, since polarity is essentially random on most recorded material, it is not really necessary to maintain it on playback.
However, for those rare records and CDs that are recorded in constant and correct polarity it is nice to have it right on playback.
So, I do hook my speakers backwards, as per Marsh's manual. Since their manual is the first manual for a tube product that never mentions the word "tube" it is remarkable that they decided to include the relatively exotic topic of polarity into it.
I wrote to Marsh, that since their manual excludes instructions on how to change the tubes entirely, they should expect customers to start returning them in about a year, complaining of lack of air and drive.
However, most material is not recorded in such a fashion. Often different tracks have different polarity and final polarity of the master is either "in-phase" or "out-of-phase" with the original event.
Therefore, since polarity is essentially random on most recorded material, it is not really necessary to maintain it on playback.
However, for those rare records and CDs that are recorded in constant and correct polarity it is nice to have it right on playback.
So, I do hook my speakers backwards, as per Marsh's manual. Since their manual is the first manual for a tube product that never mentions the word "tube" it is remarkable that they decided to include the relatively exotic topic of polarity into it.
I wrote to Marsh, that since their manual excludes instructions on how to change the tubes entirely, they should expect customers to start returning them in about a year, complaining of lack of air and drive.