TO EVERYONE WATCHING THIS!! : DO NOT USE a 9V Battery. It's way too much, and you risk damaging the speaker coil! 1.5v or 3v is usually enough to see in which direction the speaker membrane moves. Also, DO NOT let the battery sit connected to the speaker. Only use it in pulses.
I tried my speaker with a 9V battery and it didn't move. It's a Pioneer TS-1615 3-way speaker and it pass the continuity test done with my multimeter. What am i doing wrong ?
You need to brush-up on theory! ... Speaker is 'at rest' every time the signal goes through zero. ... Since sound is a complex mix of AC signals, speaker moves backward for negative portion of the signal and forward for a positive half. It is incorrect to say, 'speaker is designed for a forward movement only.
Thanks! Very important info in my case which may be why I'm having problems! I've always assumed which connection on a speaker was the positive. I usually I went with the wire that had a stripe as the positive, and the solid colored insulation as the negative. However, it was only recently that I found some instruction manual to a car CD player that labeled their solid colored insulated wire as positive. I took a pair of brand new speakers that I never used and decided to place them in some JBL enclosures to use as a pair of "rear" speakers in a home stereo config, (basically, a complete DIY thing). The truth is that they're only 4 ohm and the amp specifies 8-16 ohm speakers. So I've yet to research if I can use them as a rear output for the surround sound option but I know that I'm risking damage to the amp in a long term application if I get it wrong, (assuming I can use them at all) I'm speaking about tying them into an 8 ohm, left & right speaker system, by linking them in "series'. If I did that, the math works out to be a impedance total of 12 ohms per channel which is in the min/max specs of the amp. However, I'm still in the research stage and not entirely certain that the 4Ohm+8Ohm x 2 'in-series' wiring configuration is applicable to speakers rated under the minimum ohm specs. Thanks for the vid! THUMBS UP for sure! Rich
Perhaps it is good to explain "phasing". I assume it's phasing one speaker circuit to another. Sound waves are alternating aren't they? Or does the amp produce electrical pulses favoring the outward direction of a speaker? I think that some sounds such as percussion or the pick of a guitar string would have more energy if it was an outward direction.
You are half-right in this video. The polarity test is correct, but your comment about speakers not being designed to move in the opposite direction is incorrect. The speaker cone is designed to move in both directions, and there is no adverse effect what-so-ever. The audio wave form is AC, and swings positive and negative. At 0V, the cone is at rest. During the positive half of the wave, the cone moves in one direction, and during the negative phase, the other (both in and out). It is important for all low-frequency drivers to be moving in the same phase to prevent wave cancellation. In fact, it is sometimes desirable to have the low frequency drivers out of phase with the mid and high frequency drivers. PS: Good videos. Very helpful.
I have two wires in my car. I cannot trace them back to the source. I need to know which one is pos/neg. This only helps if you want to know the connector at the speaker, not the wiring. Can you help?
what if you want to test the two same color wires coming out of the old speaker hole on the car? Would you just turn on the ignition to get the radio going, turn down the volume and then touch the wires like you're showing to see which terminal on the speaker they need to be connected to?
I've always just hooked it up one way then the other and chose the wiring with the bassiest, richest sound. You can generally tell when it's wrong when you flip flop between the two.
Honestly, I use the stripe as a guide, and connect that stripe to the same color on the amp and speaker. Red connect amp to red connect speaker, and the same with negative. Seems to work perfectly.
@lessco electronics: I have two kicker comp cvrs dvc 4ohm wired to 1ohm on a hifonics Brutus 1500. I've taken out the subs about 3 times to see if the subs are wired wrong but all positives are wired to positives and negatives to negatives. but for some reason one sub moves out of phase and it's irritating. also lately I smell a burning smell coming out the port. this is my second speaker from amazon that I've ordered in one month. also the subs positive and negative termninal have red and black stickers on them. do u think they came backwards from the factory? thanks
Tito Gomez That is possible, especially since a little sticker dictates which is which many times, here is what I'd do. take a 9v battery and pop out the voice coil and verify theyre all traveling in the correct direction. then see...
Tito Gomez in a single box I will reverse one speakers polarity witch will alow them to work together instead of fighting each other. As one goes in one goes out bass will get double
I have a related question. I have stinger rca cords and they had a red and black pinstrip sticker on the left and right cord. the sticker came off and I don't know which is left or right (these were run to a subwoofer in a car). What I am trying to find out is on a monoblock amp will it matter which cord I plug into the left and right on the amp? or is there a way to check which is left and right on the rca cord?
I cannot see the speaker cone in my broken headphones (it's encased in a pad stitched closed). Can I assume the orientation that produces the louder pop is the correct phasing?
Yes, DC phasing test is simple, but how to test multiple amp outputs for correct + sinewave phasing? I've seen amps and head units with all kinds of internal wiring spaghetti: grounds crossed between outputs, +/- crossed on a channel. I've been synchronising by ear and it's doable most of the time, but some car interiors sound so weird that it would be quicker to verify with an o'scope. Could u teach us how to do that?
Whichever wire is touching the positive terminal on the battery carries the positive signal. If that signal pushes the speaker up, then your polarity is correct, if not, switch.
I have just put new speakers in my car, but the existing wiring from the head unit has no consistent markings or way of telling which wire is positive. How do I check which wire is positive?
Personally I don't see this as a problem as speakers are usually labelled at the back where they are connected. The difficulty is where you have a pair of wires coming out of a wall and the amp is some distance away hidden in a shelf where access is near to impossible because of all the wires and other audio/video equipment stacked on top and connected to it LOL. How do I know which is positive and which is negative by the signal coming from the wires, is there a way to find out?
Stephen Cutajar this is how you find out haha. You connect them to the speakers + & - and if the speaker pumps outward then that means that the cable attached to the positive on the speaker is also the positive cable. Or if the speaker pumps inwards it means that the negative cable is connected to speakers positive spot.
Hello Lessco Electronics, last night, from my vintage tube amplifier, I mistakenly connected my Spendor Bookshelf speakers as with two + wires to the one speaker and two - wires to the another speaker. But one side speaker worked and another side didn't work. 'Balance control worked both sides only for one speaker. I shocked and sweated then found it was wrongly connected. After made the correct polarity connection, they now sing. Here, I need your clarification for: Since I made the wrong connection for 10 minutes, is there any possibility for weakening the Cross-over and speakers? Actually, What would be happened by this wrong connection? I am much much worried about my beloved - expensive new speakers. Kindly explain and please let me know : Did my speakers fully escaped and are they safe now? why could the speaker sing, connected with two positive + speaker wires? and could not sing ,connected with two negative wires? Thank you, _ with regards,
if anything the damage would show on the amplifier end, not the crossovers, Since it's up and running again, I can only presume the amp has built in protection circuitry.
I have 2 subwoofers standing so close to each other that i HAVE TO flip the phase of one of them to get optimal sound (i've already tested that). Both subs are going to run on one mono amp, so can i just reverse polarity on one of them even if they are in the same amp channel or will that destroy the sound, amp, or the subs? :)
Just a thought.... do you by chance have 1 in a sealed box and the other in a ported box? one may be pulling what the other one's pushing sound wave wise!
Lessco Electronics No, both are sealed. they are installed in a L-shaped bench sort of, inside a big van. And when i flipped the cables of just one of them the bass got remarkably better! (that was on a two channel amp) Next time I'm workin on the project, i will take the polarity test cus the boxes cant be opened again so im startin to wonder if One of them was flipped in the first place :P In the end they will run on a one channel monoblock so what i really need to know is if the amp or the speakers can take damage or cause problems if one of the speakers are connected "wrong" polarity wise, and the other correct. Thank you for answering :)
Get a test light and connect it to one of the speaker cables. Then set the ignition to on. No reason to start the car. If you have a push button start, push the start button twice with your foot off the brake pedal. Once you have the ignition on, take the test light and touch the center of a 12v accessory plug/lighter. Be careful not to touch the sides with the test liglt or you'll blow the fuse. You want find which speaker cable lights the test light. The one that lights it is the ground.
That's fine using a battery, how about showing us on car wires? My car has four different colored wires for the two front speakers, and four different colored wires for the rear speakers? Plus the OEM speakers have an "A" and a "B" where the replacements have a "+" and a "-" mark?
A man y always put the stripe wire as negative because I thought that the line means negative ha ha ha ha but I use the speaker polarity tester that comes with a CD 💿 and the install bay IBR68 and I haven’t had any problems and are very nice tools and in the ibr68 I made a 12 ft cable to check the cable on the radio connection and listen to the speaker were is located for when i forget what wire goes to what speaker 🔊
TO EVERYONE WATCHING THIS!! : DO NOT USE a 9V Battery.
It's way too much, and you risk damaging the speaker coil!
1.5v or 3v is usually enough to see in which direction the speaker membrane moves.
Also, DO NOT let the battery sit connected to the speaker. Only use it in pulses.
I tried my speaker with a 9V battery and it didn't move. It's a Pioneer TS-1615 3-way speaker and it pass the continuity test done with my multimeter. What am i doing wrong ?
Possible bad battery or didn't get a good ground. On your speaker, the small spade is - and the large one is +.
B24Fox is right! 1.5v is enough. Tried it with 1.5v AA battery. Thanks man!
You need to brush-up on theory! ... Speaker is 'at rest' every time the signal goes through zero. ... Since sound is a complex mix of AC signals, speaker moves backward for negative portion of the signal and forward for a positive half.
It is incorrect to say, 'speaker is designed for a forward movement only.
B24Fox only if you hold it on there long enough if you just put it on there for a second like this guy did it's not going to damage your speakers
Dude thank you. Currently putting in car speakers and this is cool to know. Cheers!
Thanks! Very important info in my case which may be why I'm having problems! I've always assumed which connection on a speaker was the positive. I usually I went with the wire that had a stripe as the positive, and the solid colored insulation as the negative. However, it was only recently that I found some instruction manual to a car CD player that labeled their solid colored insulated wire as positive. I took a pair of brand new speakers that I never used and decided to place them in some JBL enclosures to use as a pair of "rear" speakers in a home stereo config, (basically, a complete DIY thing).
The truth is that they're only 4 ohm and the amp specifies 8-16 ohm speakers. So I've yet to research if I can use them as a rear output for the surround sound option but I know that I'm risking damage to the amp in a long term application if I get it wrong, (assuming I can use them at all)
I'm speaking about tying them into an 8 ohm, left & right speaker system, by linking them in "series'. If I did that, the math works out to be a impedance total of 12 ohms per channel which is in the min/max specs of the amp. However, I'm still in the research stage and not entirely certain that the 4Ohm+8Ohm x 2 'in-series' wiring configuration is applicable to speakers rated under the minimum ohm specs.
Thanks for the vid! THUMBS UP for sure!
Rich
Thanks! in short, the wire put on the plus battery terminal that pops the speaker out, is the right speaker positive terminal.
yes
thanks for the tip, I was wondering how to check this, have a great day !
Perhaps it is good to explain "phasing". I assume it's phasing one speaker circuit to another. Sound waves are alternating aren't they? Or does the amp produce electrical pulses favoring the outward direction of a speaker? I think that some sounds such as percussion or the pick of a guitar string would have more energy if it was an outward direction.
That's an awesome tip on testing speaker phase! Thanks for posting.
I'm having a speaker 150watt
I'm having this kinda popping sound once i on it.
How to repair it?
You are half-right in this video.
The polarity test is correct, but your comment about speakers not being designed to move in the opposite direction is incorrect. The speaker cone is designed to move in both directions, and there is no adverse effect what-so-ever.
The audio wave form is AC, and swings positive and negative. At 0V, the cone is at rest. During the positive half of the wave, the cone moves in one direction, and during the negative phase, the other (both in and out).
It is important for all low-frequency drivers to be moving in the same phase to prevent wave cancellation. In fact, it is sometimes desirable to have the low frequency drivers out of phase with the mid and high frequency drivers.
PS: Good videos. Very helpful.
I have two wires in my car. I cannot trace them back to the source. I need to know which one is pos/neg. This only helps if you want to know the connector at the speaker, not the wiring. Can you help?
what if you want to test the two same color wires coming out of the old speaker hole on the car? Would you just turn on the ignition to get the radio going, turn down the volume and then touch the wires like you're showing to see which terminal on the speaker they need to be connected to?
I've always just hooked it up one way then the other and chose the wiring with the bassiest, richest sound. You can generally tell when it's wrong when you flip flop between the two.
3:26 speaker cone excursions?
Honestly, I use the stripe as a guide, and connect that stripe to the same color on the amp and speaker. Red connect amp to red connect speaker, and the same with negative.
Seems to work perfectly.
@lessco electronics: I have two kicker comp cvrs dvc 4ohm wired to 1ohm on a hifonics Brutus 1500. I've taken out the subs about 3 times to see if the subs are wired wrong but all positives are wired to positives and negatives to negatives. but for some reason one sub moves out of phase and it's irritating. also lately I smell a burning smell coming out the port. this is my second speaker from amazon that I've ordered in one month. also the subs positive and negative termninal have red and black stickers on them. do u think they came backwards from the factory? thanks
Tito Gomez That is possible, especially since a little sticker dictates which is which many times, here is what I'd do. take a 9v battery and pop out the voice coil and verify theyre all traveling in the correct direction. then see...
Tito Gomez in a single box I will reverse one speakers polarity witch will alow them to work together instead of fighting each other. As one goes in one goes out bass will get double
For example if you unscrew one speaker and play bass then just flip it backwards you will see with out switching wires. It's phasing your speakers
I have a related question. I have stinger rca cords and they had a red and black pinstrip sticker on the left and right cord. the sticker came off and I don't know which is left or right (these were run to a subwoofer in a car). What I am trying to find out is on a monoblock amp will it matter which cord I plug into the left and right on the amp? or is there a way to check which is left and right on the rca cord?
goose m it doesnt matter since theyre being powered off of 1 channel
I cannot see the speaker cone in my broken headphones (it's encased in a pad stitched closed). Can I assume the orientation that produces the louder pop is the correct phasing?
doesnt work that way
Yes, DC phasing test is simple, but how to test multiple amp outputs for correct + sinewave phasing? I've seen amps and head units with all kinds of internal wiring spaghetti: grounds crossed between outputs, +/- crossed on a channel. I've been synchronising by ear and it's doable most of the time, but some car interiors sound so weird that it would be quicker to verify with an o'scope.
Could u teach us how to do that?
+stereorail let me ponder that one in the mental computer a while...
I get that the striped wire turns out to be + but I'm not catching how the wires are oriented when hooked to the battery. Thx!
Whichever wire is touching the positive terminal on the battery carries the positive signal. If that signal pushes the speaker up, then your polarity is correct, if not, switch.
Thanks Mike.
I have just put new speakers in my car, but the existing wiring from the head unit has no consistent markings or way of telling which wire is positive. How do I check which wire is positive?
+Chris Curtis you can do a continuity test using a multi meter between the speaker and the stereo output
Personally I don't see this as a problem as speakers are usually labelled at the back where they are connected. The difficulty is where you have a pair of wires coming out of a wall and the amp is some distance away hidden in a shelf where access is near to impossible because of all the wires and other audio/video equipment stacked on top and connected to it LOL. How do I know which is positive and which is negative by the signal coming from the wires, is there a way to find out?
Stephen Cutajar this is how you find out haha. You connect them to the speakers + & - and if the speaker pumps outward then that means that the cable attached to the positive on the speaker is also the positive cable. Or if the speaker pumps inwards it means that the negative cable is connected to speakers positive spot.
Hello
Lessco Electronics, last night, from my vintage tube amplifier, I
mistakenly connected my Spendor Bookshelf speakers as with two + wires
to the one speaker and two - wires to the another speaker. But one side
speaker worked and another side didn't work. 'Balance control worked
both sides only for one speaker. I shocked and sweated then found it
was wrongly connected. After made the correct polarity connection, they
now sing. Here, I need your clarification for: Since I made the wrong
connection for 10 minutes, is there any possibility for weakening the
Cross-over and speakers? Actually, What would be happened by this wrong
connection? I am much much worried about my beloved - expensive new
speakers. Kindly explain and please let me know : Did my speakers
fully escaped and are they safe now? why could the speaker sing, connected
with two positive + speaker wires? and could not sing ,connected with two negative wires?
Thank you,
_ with regards,
if anything the damage would show on the amplifier end, not the crossovers, Since it's up and running again, I can only presume the amp has built in protection circuitry.
Suseendran Balakrishnan
on a Samsung with 2 colorless(transparent) wires one has a BLACK STRIPE the black striped is the negative ... speaker code PSFZS940E
I have 2 subwoofers standing so close to each other that i HAVE TO flip the phase of one of them to get optimal sound (i've already tested that). Both subs are going to run on one mono amp, so can i just reverse polarity on one of them even if they are in the same amp channel or will that destroy the sound, amp, or the subs? :)
Just a thought.... do you by chance have 1 in a sealed box and the other in a ported box? one may be pulling what the other one's pushing sound wave wise!
Lessco Electronics No, both are sealed. they are installed in a L-shaped bench sort of, inside a big van. And when i flipped the cables of just one of them the bass got remarkably better! (that was on a two channel amp) Next time I'm workin on the project, i will take the polarity test cus the boxes cant be opened again so im startin to wonder if One of them was flipped in the first place :P In the end they will run on a one channel monoblock so what i really need to know is if the amp or the speakers can take damage or cause problems if one of the speakers are connected "wrong" polarity wise, and the other correct. Thank you for answering :)
Lessco Electronics Your theory was correct tho, that was the problem in the first place, thats why I might need to flip one of the cables
thanks for speaker phasing. i thought all along is the opposite direction. now i know. thanks for the video...
GREAT VIDEO, VERY HELPFUL
wait does the speaker move the same direction with a battery and with the speaker signal?
yes
Answer the damn phone!!!
i fucking ran upstairs trying too!
hello, who is it?
Hahaha
Will it just die if we connect it wrong?
no, it'll just sound weird
but what if i dont know which polarity the WIRES are? this only shows for the speaker?
Get a test light and connect it to one of the speaker cables. Then set the ignition to on. No reason to start the car. If you have a push button start, push the start button twice with your foot off the brake pedal. Once you have the ignition on, take the test light and touch the center of a 12v accessory plug/lighter. Be careful not to touch the sides with the test liglt or you'll blow the fuse.
You want find which speaker cable lights the test light. The one that lights it is the ground.
That's why I came here
can this be done to tweeter?
+Phillip Torres (45Bandit) if it has a large enough diaphram, you may have to look real close on most
That's fine using a battery, how about showing us on car wires? My car has four different colored wires for the two front speakers, and four different colored wires for the rear speakers? Plus the OEM speakers have an "A" and a "B" where the replacements have a "+" and a "-" mark?
Thanks for the post. It's helped me a great deal :)
WHAT IF THE SPEAKERS ARE HIDDEN SO YOU CANNOT SEE THEM ?????????
Take the cover off
Or if you can look at the underside of them if they're in the back
A man y always put the stripe wire as negative because I thought that the line means negative ha ha ha ha but I use the speaker polarity tester that comes with a CD 💿 and the install bay IBR68 and I haven’t had any problems and are very nice tools and in the ibr68 I made a 12 ft cable to check the cable on the radio connection and listen to the speaker were is located for when i forget what wire goes to what speaker 🔊
Thank for the info
No problem!
Thank you
You're welcome
Nothing happens mine is 32 inch
Picture please of your 32
I can't hear this video :/
volume....up?
This crap just happened to me in a Tesla Roadster. Finally fixed the issue.
Video starts at 1:50
:I
Answer your phone.
za hando noise lmao
,’7
Talking too much get to the point
so speakers go down = bad, good = up
yup, you got it!
thank you
Answer the damn phone!!!!