chriscivic

iTrader: (1)

My speakers don't have any bass at all and sometimes the highs slur together. In my other thread someone said they might be out of phase and to switch the wires. Does anyone know which wires are positive and negative?i just wired them up when i installed them, i didn't know.

Regularjoe

A speaker moves in and out so it really doesn't matter what way you hook it up, and the speaker will work just fine. As you add more speaker, 2 or more, phase becomes an issue. The phase of a speaker refers to when the speaker moves in or out. For two speakers to be in "phase" it means they both move out at the same time and in at the same time.

When speakers are in phase the bass "adds" together and the highs sound good.

When speakers are out of phase the bass doesn't "add". The highs get really airy and not very distinct.

To test this simply swap one of the two speakers and see how it sounds. Generally the more bassy way means they are both in phase.

Of course there are always situations that break the rules. Sometimes becuase subs are really far away compared to the highs .... or even the sound waves reflect kind of funny in a certain vehicle .... it might sound better to have the subs out of phase w/ the highs. Most amps and HU's have sub controls to make the sub 0 or 180 .... meaning in (0) or out (180) of phase.

brash

One of the wires is positive (usually the bigger connector, IIRC), and one is negative. If you've got 2-way speakers, you will have two sets of +/-, 3-way will give you 3 sets of +/-. (Right? Someone correct me if I'm wrong... I've never used anything but stock or components.)

If your bass sucks, you want to try switching the positive and negative wires for the woofer. There aren't any other wire aside from the positive and negative wires (if there are others, they are for other speakers -- like the tweeters, for example). So just switch them. You may have to put different connectors on the ends.

Regularjoe

Thats only for components. I'm talking about the main speakers subs, rears, and fronts. Ideally you want every speaker in the system moving in or out at the same time.

chriscivic

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the help, i switched them and it sounds a little better, not much, but better. I think it will sound alot better with an amp since they are rated at 55w rms and it is currently off a stock deck.

Regularjoe

Thats an understatement. An amp will make a night and day difference.

Fletchman04

an easy way to find out which wire is pos or neg is to get a tester to put some juice to the wires from the woofer. if it pops out you've got it right, but if it goes in then you've got it backwards.