Helo Zaikesman: thanks for the kind and informative response.
I agree with everything you are saying. Indeed some recordings sound very much the same with either phase polarity.However, I have found that my English Cathedral Music,(of which I am most intimate and expert being a life long chorister)shows phase in a dramatic way.
Many of these recordings are done in rooms of immense space,with huge powerful organs.That, and the very fast and immediate power of boys(most of the time)voices to reach into the sonic stratosphere,can tax a system to the extreme.
When the phase is correct,these transients work much better and are less problematic,i.e. cleaner.
I have also found that the room/soundstage is much more correct and recognizable.English choirs stand in antiphonal fashion,left and right of center and usually under the organ divisions. Indeed they are named;the right is the "Decani" (where the dean sits),the other is the "Cantorus"(where the cantor or precentor sits).When the phase is incorrect, the antiphonal effect is lost, and the ambient room decay and reverberation is shortened.
When listening to "pop" records,I have found the dead give away to phase is listening to cymbals.When there is a hit,but no crash or sizzle, the phase is incorrect.
I have been a "audiophile" for over 30 years, and I have just discovered this phenomenon. I also just discovered "loading" of the phono stage. Between these two epiphany, I am listening to some of my most beloved records (many that I have owned for over 30 years)as if they were new. I am having so much fun.
Recently I had a friend over for a listen.He was the guy that showed me the phase thing and for that I am indebted. He told me that I was a software guy,not a hardware guy.I suppose he is right,in that I value music first above all else in the hobby.I find the more I learn about the technical side the more interested it becomes a vehicle for making what I love better.
what a fun hobby
Happy Christmas to all
I agree with everything you are saying. Indeed some recordings sound very much the same with either phase polarity.However, I have found that my English Cathedral Music,(of which I am most intimate and expert being a life long chorister)shows phase in a dramatic way.
Many of these recordings are done in rooms of immense space,with huge powerful organs.That, and the very fast and immediate power of boys(most of the time)voices to reach into the sonic stratosphere,can tax a system to the extreme.
When the phase is correct,these transients work much better and are less problematic,i.e. cleaner.
I have also found that the room/soundstage is much more correct and recognizable.English choirs stand in antiphonal fashion,left and right of center and usually under the organ divisions. Indeed they are named;the right is the "Decani" (where the dean sits),the other is the "Cantorus"(where the cantor or precentor sits).When the phase is incorrect, the antiphonal effect is lost, and the ambient room decay and reverberation is shortened.
When listening to "pop" records,I have found the dead give away to phase is listening to cymbals.When there is a hit,but no crash or sizzle, the phase is incorrect.
I have been a "audiophile" for over 30 years, and I have just discovered this phenomenon. I also just discovered "loading" of the phono stage. Between these two epiphany, I am listening to some of my most beloved records (many that I have owned for over 30 years)as if they were new. I am having so much fun.
Recently I had a friend over for a listen.He was the guy that showed me the phase thing and for that I am indebted. He told me that I was a software guy,not a hardware guy.I suppose he is right,in that I value music first above all else in the hobby.I find the more I learn about the technical side the more interested it becomes a vehicle for making what I love better.
what a fun hobby
Happy Christmas to all