LP70S Owner’s Manual
9
etting The Most From Your LP70S
In a system of commensurate high quality components, the
conrad-johnson LP70S offers an unparalleled level of
sophistication and refinement in music reproduction. To get the
best performance out of any audio system, there are a number of
important details that must be attended to.
Absolute Phase
Musical notes are heard through the ear’s response to waves of al-
ternating rise and fall of air pressure. Musical transients are almost
exclusively positive: that is, the initial effect is a rise in pressure.
The ear is capable of distinguishing these positive transients from
the musically unnatural alternative of a negative transient (an initial
fall in air pressure). In terms of your stereo system, these tran-
sients are created by your loudspeakers. If the speakers respond
to musical transients by first moving out, they are creating a rise in
pressure, and the system is said to be phase correct. If they re-
spond by moving in, they create a fall in pressure and the system
is said to be phase inverting. Each component in the stereo system
either preserves the phase of the incoming signal, and is said to be
phase correct, or inverts the phase and is said to be phase invert-
ing. It is unimportant whether an individual component is phase
correct or phase inverting, as long as the system as a whole is
phase correct. This will be the case if the number of phase inver-
sions is even (or zero).
The LP70S is phase correct (non-inverting). If your system has an
odd number of inversions, (for example, if you have a phase invert-
ing preamplifier) then you must add one phase inversion. This is
conveniently done by reversing the positive and negative connec-
tions to your speakers (be sure to reverse both channels). If you
are not sure about the phase of every piece in your system, you
can establish correct absolute phase by careful listening. When the
system is in correct phase, transients will be noticeably cleaner
and more sharply defined. The effect is especially apparent on
plucked string sounds. A final warning - not all recordings are
phase correct (including some “audiophile” recordings), so listen to
several before concluding your investigation of absolute phase.
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