XLR IC with ACCUPHASE int.


I have an Accuphase E450 connected to a Metronome CD3.
I understood that the Accuphase XLR connection is different than the XLR connection in the Metronome.
Pin# 2 is (-) and pin# 3 is (+), while in American and European products pin #2 is (+) and pin # 3 is (-).
I have a standard XLR cable - What the solution to this mismatch? (accept going RCA)
itzoros
The result of that, without taking any special measures, would be a polarity reversal (also known as a reversal of absolute phase), which may or may not be audibly significant depending on the recording. At most its effects would be subtle.

To correct for it, if the CD3 is your only source component, just interchange the red and black connections either on both of your speakers or on the corresponding amplifier outputs. That will result in the correct overall system polarity.

If you have another source component in the system that does not also have this reversal, you would have to have a special xlr cable made up that interchanged pins 2 and 3 at one end.

This all assumes that the components themselves do not invert absolute phase, aside from the inconsistency between pins 2 and 3. That is usually but not always the case. If you are unsure and want to experiment, compare the two speaker connection polarities using a well recorded, simply mic'd recording, preferably one that is on an audiophile-oriented label and that contains a lot of sharp transients.

Of course, be sure to have everything turned off while you are working with the speaker or amplifier connections.

Regards,
-- Al
Thanks Al,
I have interchange the plus and minus cable speaker in the amp. and the siffernce in sound is not subtle at all.
The sound became warmer and relaxed instead of bright and edgy, the bass is better – very good.
The thing is I have an XLR cable which will be hard for me to replace.
The other source is TV which I don't necessarily care if I listen to it with some brightness.
Does listening to a source in polarity reversal can cause any damage to one of the components
Does listening to a source in polarity reversal can cause any damage to one of the components
No, absolutely not.

Although some issues can arise if you have a separate powered sub -- let us know if you do and I'll address that further if necessary.

I'm wondering if the fact that you heard such a major improvement might mean that your speakers were previously connected out of phase relative to each other. Having the two speakers connected with different polarities, relative to each other, will cause a dramatic reduction in bass, as well as vague, diffuse imaging.

If what you just did was to change the polarities on BOTH speakers, then you indeed simply corrected for the pin 2 and 3 inconsistency, which I would not expect to produce such a major difference.

If on the other hand what you just did was to change the polarity on only one speaker, then you corrected what would have previously been a difference in relative phase (between channels), which would have produced the symptoms that you seem to be describing.

Regards,
-- Al
Al
I have swapped the polarities in both speakers (not only one of them).
What I mean by major change – does not mean the system transferred into some thing else, but the bass became more accurate with no reduction in strength, and string and brass are not bright and edgy.
I do have a powered sub woofer, but only using it with the HT, not for stereo, and it is connected to a HT receiver, which operates the sub and the Accuphase to power the front speakers in home theater only.
For what I understand, I can either listen to home theater in reversal polarity or swap the speakers cables back when using the home theater.
Any other idea.

Thanks you
The one comment I would have is that by reversing the connections of the main speakers, for HT mode you have changed the phase relationship between sub and main speakers, by 180 degrees. If bass performance in HT mode was satisfactory to begin with, you may now find that you are getting some bass reduction or cancellation in the crossover region between sub and mains.

Perhaps the sub has a 0/180 degree phase reversal switch, or a continuous phase adjustment provision, in which case you can use that adjustment to keep the sub and mains in phase.

Best regards,
-- Al