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How do you all ensure correct polarity with aftermarket cables?

Hi Everyone, 

I recently got some upgraded cabling for my Sennheiser HD6XX, and unlike the stock cables which are labeled L/R and make it obvious which way they’re supposed to be plugged in, the aftermarket cable has none of these conveniences. L/R is easy to determine of course, but phase/polarity is a little trickier. 
I’ve tried using this tool here: https://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php

The test for this issue is the center/twisted sound file, but I find the description and experience kind of subjective.. how am I supposed to know if it sounds centered, or twisted up in my head lol. This is a lot more straightforward with speakers, since you can just point them at each other and flip polarity until you hear significant canceling and then you know you’ve got it wrong and need to change one speaker. 
How do you all handle this?
128x128dougeyjones
dougeyjones's avatar
dougeyjones OP
163 posts
 
I feel like I’ve stumbled on a piece of hidden information. I’ve been playing with stereo gear since I was a child and always thought of the + & - terminals as absolute concepts that needed to be followed strictly for proper use. You can imagine my surprise at hearing that there’s no industry standard for polarity?!?!?! 

Every piece of equipment I’ve ever used has these clearly demarcated terminals on both ends, with separate colors to make sure you get it right, how could it be that it doesn’t matter! 

My cheese has been moved MC, idk what to believe anymore. 
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,476 posts
 
I have Sennheiser 650 with Cardas aftermarket cables attached.  On the connection to the earphones,there is a Cardas logo.....I make sure the logo is facing out.
testpilot
958 posts
 
Every piece of equipment I’ve ever used has these clearly demarcated terminals on both ends, with separate colors to make sure you get it right, how could it be that it doesn’t matter!
Terminals are clearly marked for polarity for the sole purpose to insure that both the Left and Right speakers are wired with the same polarity.



Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
5,980 posts
 
testpilot
Terminals are clearly marked for polarity for the sole purpose to insure that both the Left and Right speakers are wired with the same polarity.
That is mistaken. There can be other reasons that it's necessary to maintain polarity.

For example, there are servo-controlled woofer systems that require  the amplifier output to have the same polarity as the preamplifier output. Major problems can follow if the two are not in agreement.
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