And so it came to pass, on 04-15-97 23:11,
   that Marv Hubbard spake unto Matt Ion:
 MI>> Interesting opinion.  Do you have something constructive to add to
 MI>> the discussion?
 MH> Simply put, what you are saying is a bunch of crap. 
You didn't answer my question: do you have something *constructive* to add to 
the discussion?
 MH> If all of the speakers in a given system are hooked up out of
 MH> pahse, just so all of them are hooked up exactly the same, i defy
 MH> you or any one of the golden ears boys to tell the difference in a
 MH> double blind test. 
You bring the test, I'll take it for ya.
 MH> Given, if you take one side and reverse it, you will hear it, or if
 MH> you take one seaker out of a 2 or 3 way system, and reverse it, you
 MH> will hear the difference, but like i said, if they are all hooked
 MH> up reverse phasing, there is no human ear on God's green earth that
 MH> can distinquish it in a blind test.
It's not a common thing, and depending on the speaker quality it's not 
necessarily noticeable, but with certain types of material, the sound DOES 
differ depending on speaker phase.  
Think about it: if you mike a kick drum, and the signal is kept in phase 
throughout the recording and reproduction chain, then the initial hit of the 
batter on the head will produce an outward movement of the woofer.  If the 
phase is switched somewhere along the way, that hit will produce an inward 
cone movement.  Depending on the speaker design, that initial attack may be 
muffled or "muddied" if the cone moves inward instead of outward.  It DOES 
become noticeable, as a lack of "punch".  
Obviously, it would never be detectable on cheap Radio Shack speakers, or on 
overkill subwoofer setups that do enough on their own to muddy the bass.
Most instrumental material consists of a fairly evenly-balanced wave, with 
regards to the positive and negative sides of the waveform.  But with some 
material whose wave energy is less evenly distributed, especially with 
certain vocals, the difference may be detectable for the same reason.
 MH>  Best you are going to get, is somewhere around being correct 50%
 MH> of the time, just like you would if you just picked one at random.
 MH> In other words, it would just be a SWAG!
I nver said anyone could listen to a signal and tell which way it's phased, 
only that the difference between positive and negative phasing of CERTAIN 
signals is detectable by some people.  I don't particularly care whether you 
believe it or not, but your blanket condemning of the idea shows you have 
very little idea of how sound waves work, which leads me to suggest that you 
avoid discussions that are over your head.
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Love, luck, and lollipops...
Matt


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