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Re: Balderdash

Posted by A. Welter on October 31, 2000 at 01:48:36

In Reply to: Balderdash posted by phenderson on October 30, 2000 at 16:20:43:

Gotta say, after years of being in the sound business, I previously had doubted whether it was possible to hear absolute phase on a recording. I agree with what I've read on the thread already, but must also add that dynamic mics and condenser mics are inherently not phase consistent- the dynamics lag from a condenser. It is a rare modern recording indeed that only uses one or the other, so there are built in phase problems in almost all pop recordings. Studios have so many compressors, processors, equalizers and patchbays, used in so many configurations, that I would not bet better than 60 /40 in favor of most recordings as a net being in absolute phase.
I did one very interesting test, initially by mistake. I was making microphone housings for miniature condenser mics- very impressive little buggers. One sounded quite a bit better than another in the phones as I tested it with my voice. It surprised me, as it was the cheaper unit. I listened to both at the same time, and it was obvious that one was out of phase with the other, both by sound and the drop on the V.U. meter when they were summed. I switched the polarity on the more expensive unit, and now they sounded fine together, but the expensive unit now sounded better than the other. Looking into the specs of the unit, it was inverting, so my ears could tell the difference, but only when I was listening to my voice simultaneously through the headphones from the mic. I tried recording the mics, the "better" (more expensive) mic, inverted phase, sounded better than the non inverted mic now.
Probably for certain things like kick drum, where the initial pulse is always forward going if you are not on the beater side, one might be able to tell absolute phase, but I know from my own experience it would be hard to impossible to tell on most program material- if it is a concern, I'd recommend a double pole double throw speaker polarity switch, labeled in the "normal" position- but don't be surprised if half the recordings sound better in the "abnormal" position. Be even less surprised how little the difference will be, except when some error has been made in the recording process.

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