out of phase subs

Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=11909
Printed Date: July 22, 2025 at 1:12 PM

Topic: out of phase subs

Posted By: foote1982
Subject: out of phase subs
Date Posted: April 07, 2003 at 10:58 AM

how do subs become out of phase? is it a reverse polarity issue?

Replies:

Posted By: wrencher_25
Date Posted: April 07, 2003 at 1:46 PM

Subs become out of phase when one is pushing (compressing) and one is pulling (rareifying). It usually caused by having one the leads that go to the subs backwards. You can usually tell when something is out of polarity by diminished bass. If they were out of phase then it would sound like crap. A quick fix is to switch the positive and negative of one sub (it doesnt matter which as long as the subs are doing the same motions ie. pushing and pulling). That should solve it.

How many subs do you have?

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Andrew Weitzel

MECP First Class Installer

Posted By: blaksaga
Date Posted: April 08, 2003 at 10:49 AM

Actually you can have one single speaker that is out of phase. It simply means that the polarity is reversed(pos & neg leads are hooked up wrong). You can easily check the polarity of a sub by using a 9 volt battery. Connect the positive lead to the positive side of the battery and the neg to neg...if the sub extends, then it is in phaze...if it compresses, it is out of phaze. If it is out of phaze, check your connections because your wires are getting flipped around somewhere!