Mic wired out of phase

Chris900 · 6th March 2010

I have recently discovered that one of my vocal mics is wired out of phase. Is this a mere "inconvenience" i.e. that I have to remember to flip the polarity switch on my preamp when using this particular mic with other mics (in close proximity of each other, i.e. in situations where I wouldn't normally have to flip the polarity) or does this mean a disadvantage sonically as well? Help appreciated.

/Chris

Fletcher · 6th March 2010

Well... you can either pull the XLR output connector and swap pin 2 and pin 3... or build a "polarity reverse" cable as both of these solutions will yield superior results to flipping the polarity switch on the pre-amp. Most pre-amps flip the polarity at the output which means that your signal is running through the amp "upside down".

There are no amplifiers that are 100% symmetrical in their response, class A amps that are properly biased come closest, but are still not 100% symmetrical. Very few signals [especially the human voice] are symmetrical wave forms as well... which means that for a pre-amp to work properly you want the signal running into that amp "right side up".

Hope this makes sense.

Peace.

Chris900 · 6th March 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fletcher

Well... you can either pull the XLR output connector and swap pin 2 and pin 3... or build a "polarity reverse" cable as both of these solutions will yield superior results to flipping the polarity switch on the pre-amp. Most pre-amps flip the polarity at the output which means that your signal is running through the amp "upside down".

There are no amplifiers that are 100% symmetrical in their response, class A amps that are properly biased come closest, but are still not 100% symmetrical. Very few signals [especially the human voice] are symmetrical wave forms as well... which means that for a pre-amp to work properly you want the signal running into that amp "right side up".

Hope this makes sense.

Peace.

Thanks, Fletcher

Chris900 · 6th March 2010

Just to make things even more complicated..
The mic is powered by a separate PSU, could this mean that it might actually be the mic or the PSU that's out of phase? Any way of checking this?
/C

6th March 2010	#1
Chris900 Gear maniac Joined: Apr 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 268 Thread Starter	Mic wired out of phase I have recently discovered that one of my vocal mics is wired out of phase. Is this a mere "inconvenience" i.e. that I have to remember to flip the polarity switch on my preamp when using this particular mic with other mics (in close proximity of each other, i.e. in situations where I wouldn't normally have to flip the polarity) or does this mean a disadvantage sonically as well? Help appreciated. /Chris

6th March 2010	#2
Fletcher member no 666 Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Durham, NC Posts: 10,110	Well... you can either pull the XLR output connector and swap pin 2 and pin 3... or build a "polarity reverse" cable as both of these solutions will yield superior results to flipping the polarity switch on the pre-amp. Most pre-amps flip the polarity at the output which means that your signal is running through the amp "upside down". There are no amplifiers that are 100% symmetrical in their response, class A amps that are properly biased come closest, but are still not 100% symmetrical. Very few signals [especially the human voice] are symmetrical wave forms as well... which means that for a pre-amp to work properly you want the signal running into that amp "right side up". Hope this makes sense. Peace. __________________ CN Fletcher Professional Affiliations: R/E/P Professional Recording Engineer and Producer forums - serious hobbyists welcome SoundPure.com mwagener wrote on Sat, 11 September 2004 14:33 We are selling emotions, there are no emotions in a grid Roscoe Ambel once said: Pro-Tools is to audio what fluorescent is to light

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