"I'm not sure what music you listen to, But for me PHASE is laughable. Because all the vinyl I listen too was recorded back in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's do you think everything was recorded in the same phase?? It wasn't, I assure you! Phase means nothing, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it that's for sure."
There are different ways that a system can be in or out of phase. What you're talking about is absolute phase. The effect is usually small and very difficult to hear. Also, its worth noting that recordings are still not consistent when it comes to phase. The same thing is still going on today, and that's why you see so many preamps and sources with a phase invert switch.
Absolute phase is not the same as phase correct speakers, like my Vandersteens (Or the Thiel's that Cerrot and his friends destroyed). With phase correct speakers, all of the drivers move back and forth at the same time. The effect is much more audible. You can also have a situation where one speaker is out of phase with the other. (The entire speaker as a whole, and not just the drivers.). The effect is huge and is almost always due to someone connecting the speaker cables in error. If your speakers sound like Bose, this is probably why.
