- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Easiest way to test polarity on speakers?
Posted on 6/7/14 at 9:58 am
Posted on 6/7/14 at 9:58 am
Bought a house with speakers in the ceiling of every room. Like 20+ speakers to check. I have a bundle of wires coming out of the wall. Is there a relatively inexpensive device to do this with? I suspect some issues because sound quality varies a good bit from room to room even though all speakers appear to be the same. TIA 
5
Posted on 6/7/14 at 12:58 pm to skidry
Ohm meter. Wait...
Does each speaker have 2 wires leading from it to plug into the reciever?
If that's the case, there might be a white line on one wire signifying negative. If not, I dont know a way other than quickly testing if the speaker works if wires one way or the other.
Does each speaker have 2 wires leading from it to plug into the reciever?
If that's the case, there might be a white line on one wire signifying negative. If not, I dont know a way other than quickly testing if the speaker works if wires one way or the other.
Posted on 6/7/14 at 1:04 pm to skidry
If the level of sound changes from speaker to speaker it could be two things.
1) The gain on the amp for each channel may not be set to the same levels which is good because...
2) The dumb arse previous owner may have been cheap and wired the speakers in series. If this is the case each succeeding pair of speakers will play softer than the preceding pair in the chain.
Hopefully they are all labeled and home run to one location for each pair.
1) The gain on the amp for each channel may not be set to the same levels which is good because...
2) The dumb arse previous owner may have been cheap and wired the speakers in series. If this is the case each succeeding pair of speakers will play softer than the preceding pair in the chain.
Hopefully they are all labeled and home run to one location for each pair.
Posted on 6/7/14 at 1:39 pm to skidry
Test them with a 9 volt battery.
Using the + & - of the 9 volt battery connect the 2 speaker wires to the speaker.
If polarity is correct the speaker will push outwards, if the polarity is backwards the speaker will suck inwards.
Using the + & - of the 9 volt battery connect the 2 speaker wires to the speaker.
If polarity is correct the speaker will push outwards, if the polarity is backwards the speaker will suck inwards.
Posted on 6/7/14 at 7:06 pm to Sl4m
quote:
If polarity is correct the speaker will push outwards, if the polarity is backwards the speaker will suck inwards.
Awesome.
Posted on 6/8/14 at 12:07 am to Pectus
quote:
Awesome.
Posted on 6/8/14 at 12:45 am to skidry
Speakers don't have polarity. You can take a single speaker and reverse the polarity and you'll get the exact same sound.
With multiple speakers, you should keep the polarity consistent and connect + to the same 'side' (left or right) of each speaker to mitigate any signal phase shifting.
With multiple speakers, you should keep the polarity consistent and connect + to the same 'side' (left or right) of each speaker to mitigate any signal phase shifting.
Posted on 6/8/14 at 1:13 am to MaroonWhite
That's what I thought. 1 speaker doesnt matter and although he has 20...few share the same portions of the room. Or does it matter if there's anither speaker regsrdless?
This post was edited on 6/8/14 at 1:14 am
Posted on 6/8/14 at 5:51 am to MaroonWhite
quote:
Speakers don't have polarity. You can take a single speaker and reverse the polarity and you'll get the exact same sound.
Oh lord. Do not listen to this.
Posted on 6/8/14 at 7:21 am to skidry
Thanks for the replies!
Posted on 6/8/14 at 2:07 pm to Pectus
quote:
That's what I thought. 1 speaker doesnt matter and although he has 20...few share the same portions of the room. Or does it matter if there's anither speaker regsrdless?
If they're all in different rooms it may not matter.
Otherwise, you will get sound cancellation since they are not working together. They should all be pushing on positive and pulling on negative (or pulling on positive and pushing on negative...it doesn't matter). They just need to be consistent.
quote:
Oh lord. Do not listen to this.
I'm sorry that you don't understand physics.
Posted on 6/8/14 at 3:17 pm to MaroonWhite
quote:
I'm sorry that you don't understand physics.
I'm sorry that you don't understand how speakers work.
Just for fun, somebody with a subwoofer go switch your positive and negative and then come back and tell us if there is a difference in sound. Don't worry I'll wait.
Posted on 6/8/14 at 5:32 pm to WhiskerBiscuitSlayer
quote:
somebody with a subwoofer go switch your positive and negative
Subwoofers (good ones at least) have an RCA input and do not rely on speaker wire to operate.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News