speaker leads

[talos]

Putting my new amp into service, noticed the speaker leads from my old system are marked, the leads are in pairs L & R , but one in each pair has a black line down it is that the positive one of the pair or negative 
Any audiophiles on here put me right please, and is it really that important ?

Bob

[Simon]

If it's just a stereo lead, the black line probably indicates left or right.  As long as you make sure both ends are in corresponding channels you should be fine.

[nowster]

Just make sure the wire with the black line goes to the same polarity terminal at the amp and the speaker. Which one doesn't matter as long as you're consistent.

[talos]

Many thanks to you both , now fitted and working , sounds ok much better than the TV speakers 

[Technical Ben]

If it's just a stereo lead, the black line probably indicates left or right.  As long as you make sure both ends are in corresponding channels you should be fine.

If you plug them in backwards, all the speech also comes out sdrawkcab. 

[zappaDPJ]

˙puɐɥ ɟo ʇno ʎןןɐǝɹ ʇǝƃ uɐɔ sƃuıɥʇ ɹo dn ǝdıɹʇs uı pǝƃƃnןd ǝɹɐ sǝןqɐɔ ǝɥʇ ǝɹnsuǝ oʇ ʇuɐʇɹodɯı sɐ ʇsnɾ s,ʇI

[robinc]

 

[Simon]

 

[Clive]

Hope you are enjoying Australia Zap.   

[zappaDPJ]

 

[Technical Ben]

You joke. But the funniest thing must be plugging in one speaker backwards... and everything being silent! (That's how noise cancelling works )

[nowster]

You joke. But the funniest thing must be plugging in one speaker backwards... and everything being silent! (That's how noise cancelling works )

I once had the manager of a radio station call me saying "We've got people phoning in to say that this prerecorded segment is very quiet/silent."

I knew one of the microphone cables that had been made for the reporters was incorrectly wired and the Hot and Cold wires from the XLR at the microphone end were wired to Left and Right on the 3.5mm microphone jack for the minidisc recorder. Unfortunately, I only found that out much later than when the recordings had been made.

The signals on the Hot and Cold wires are exact opposites, so the recording had a stereo signal that was exactly in antiphase. When listened to on a mono FM radio, the stereo signal cancelled itself out when mixed down to mono. I told him to move the stereo balance control to one side, so the signals no longer cancelled out.