You are getting reinforcement from the right side of your room. Have you treated the first and second reflection points for your speakers?
Test CD : In Phase / Out of Phase test
I am looking for some help with the following problem?
Many test disks will play in phase and out of phase signals to assist in loudspeaker set up
In phase – my system plays back a signal that is tightly in focus and directly centered between the two loudspeakers. Good.
But, for out of phase – where playback should have no apparent source and seem like it is coming to you from everywhere in the room, my system whilst reproducing a signal that is diffuse and not centered between the two speakers – sounds stronger from the right speaker than the left, like the right speaker is the source.
I have tried the following
1. Changing the toe in of the right speaker so it does not point as directly at the listening position. The problem still remains
2. Swopping the left and right speaker – the problem still remains
3. Passing a 1KHz test tone and pink noise through the system and measuring SPL (dB) 1m from each speaker. The measurements were identical. Taking the same measurements from the listening chair however showed a 2dB stronger signal at the right side?
Any suggestions?
Many test disks will play in phase and out of phase signals to assist in loudspeaker set up
In phase – my system plays back a signal that is tightly in focus and directly centered between the two loudspeakers. Good.
But, for out of phase – where playback should have no apparent source and seem like it is coming to you from everywhere in the room, my system whilst reproducing a signal that is diffuse and not centered between the two speakers – sounds stronger from the right speaker than the left, like the right speaker is the source.
I have tried the following
1. Changing the toe in of the right speaker so it does not point as directly at the listening position. The problem still remains
2. Swopping the left and right speaker – the problem still remains
3. Passing a 1KHz test tone and pink noise through the system and measuring SPL (dB) 1m from each speaker. The measurements were identical. Taking the same measurements from the listening chair however showed a 2dB stronger signal at the right side?
Any suggestions?
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- 10 posts total
Nothing is wrong with your system. There are different ways you can be out of phase. In the demo that you are talking about it sounds like the speakers are out of phase with each other. This is not something that you would normally need to worry about. You will never see music like this. Try this: Turn your amp off and go to one of your speakers (doesn't matter which one). Reverse the speaker cables; if your speakers are biwired, switch both. Just to clarify, put the + (red) on the - (black) and the cable that is hooked up to the - (black) to the - (red). Play the recording that sounded messed up and it should sound normal. Remember, just reverse the cables for 1 speaker, not both. |
That's funny because whenever my imaging is off, it's always to the right side. I've actually wondered at times if my right ear is just stronger than the left. Moving my equipment from in between my speakers to the back of the room fixed the problem for me. I Agree with Tom though. I think it's down to room treatment and perhaps speaker placement. Are your speakers set up identically? |
It takes a lot of playing around with room treatment and speaker placement to be able to get the out of phase track to sound like it is coming at you from all around your room. But when the room has been treated properly, I.e., primarily, but not limited to, with respect to echo and reflections, etc. and you find the exact location for the speakers then you will hear the sound all around you equally. But it is not something one can necessarily obtain overnight. Tip: try placing the speakers closer together than you normally would, say four feet apart with no toe in/toe out. Then play the out of phase track to see if that improves the effect. Gradually move the speakers farther apart and see if you can pinpoint the speaker location where the out of phase track sounds best, when the sound appears to be coming from all around the room equally, even from directly left and right of your listening position and behind you. |
Tom6897, zd542, B_limo and Geoffkait, thank you all for your comments. My room is treated for early reflections (sidewall, floor and ceiling). Speakers are set up similarly. more details on my set up are here. See mid-page for photos. I will try out your recommendation zd542. Yes B_limo I too wondered about my hearing hence resorted to taking some basic signal level measurements to see if what I was hearing was measurable. At the listening chair the signal was definately higher (about 2dB). Overall, the out of phase signal does sound out of phase i.e. diffuse and non centred. I will try that Goeff. As theory goes - the better the out of phase response you have - the better in phase response you should have, hence the effort here. |
- 10 posts total