Speaker wire continuity

[jfrye]

So I took down the speakers on my deck for the winter and failed to mark which speaker wire was red or black. The speaker wire itself does not have any mark on it to trace back to my receiver. The ends of the speaker wires are not close together. Is there a procedure I can do to ensure continuity so I reconnect correctly. I really really don't want to rerun wire. Thanks.

 

[Verdinut]

So I took down the speakers on my deck for the winter and failed to mark which speaker wire was red or black. The speaker wire itself does not have any mark on it to trace back to my receiver. The ends of the speaker wires are not close together. Is there a procedure I can do to ensure continuity so I reconnect correctly. I really really don't want to rerun wire. Thanks.

If your speakers are not connected correctly, the sound will be lacking bass. I suggest that you listen to some music which contains easily noticeable bass, and switch the wires on one of the speakers. They will be in phase when the music sound stage is fuller with more bass output.

 

[jfrye]

If your speakers are not connected correctly, the sound will be lacking bass. I suggest that you listen to some music which contains easily noticeable bass, and switch the wires on one of the speakers. They will be in phase when the music sound stage is fuller with more bass output.

So I can listen and test each speaker individually and whatever connection has the better base/sound leave it there? Thanks!

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Dang, no markings at all? What about the wire strands? On some wires I've seen one slightly darker than the other, in order to differentiate.

Could also use an LED and a battery (probably need a helper). Current can only move in one direction through a diode so it would only light up if the polarity is correct, and you can then know which wire is which.

 

[ryanosaur]

I had speaker wire before that just had a ridge running lengthwise on the insulation to show positive. Almost imperceptible if you don't know to look for it. Perhaps?...

Hope that might help!

 

[Verdinut]

So I can listen and test each speaker individually and whatever connection has the better base/sound leave it there? Thanks!

No. Just switch the wires on only one speaker to notice the difference. The reason speaker wires or connections are color coded is exactly for the purpose of connecting a pair of speakers in phase. It doesn't matter if connections of both speakers are reversed ( red connected to black amplifier output connector and vice versa),they will still be operating in phase.

 

[Trell]

So I took down the speakers on my deck for the winter and failed to mark which speaker wire was red or black. The speaker wire itself does not have any mark on it to trace back to my receiver. The ends of the speaker wires are not close together. Is there a procedure I can do to ensure continuity so I reconnect correctly. I really really don't want to rerun wire. Thanks.

You could try using a LED and a battery to check polarity, something like https://www.amazon.com/Lixada-Camping-Flashlight-Handheld-Battery/dp/B00KZGMT8K could be used.

Edit: @Kvn_Walker already wrote that

 

[jfrye]

Dang, no markings at all? What about the wire strands? On some wires I've seen one slightly darker than the other, in order to differentiate.

Could also use an LED and a battery (probably need a helper). Current can only move in one direction through a diode so it would only light up if the polarity is correct, and you can then know which wire is which.

Indeed. One wire looks more "silvery" through the insulation. Maybe that will do. The wire is old. There use to be a white strip running the length of one wire but that is not obvious now. I'll look harder. Thanks.

 

[jfrye]

You could try using a LED and a battery to check polarity, something like https://www.amazon.com/Lixada-Camping-Flashlight-Handheld-Battery/dp/B00KZGMT8K could be used.

Edit: @Kvn_Walker already wrote that

That is a great idea. Just ordered it. Thanks.

 

[Swerd]

Every lamp cord, zip cord, or speaker wire I've seen has some way to see or feel the difference between the two conductors.

• Insulation color, like red or black.
• Print on the insulation of one conductor, but not the other.
• Color of wire under clear insulation. One conductor is copper and the other is tinned, or silver-colored.
• One conductor has a thread in it, but not the other.
• Insulation on one conductor has one or several ridges molded on the surface. It can be easier to feel this with the edge of a finger nail than to see it.

When all else fails, use Verdinut's method. Hook up two speakers in stereo and listen. Then switch the wiring polarity on one of the speakers and listen again. When wires and speakers are hooked up with the same polarity, they will have good sounding bass. When you've got speakers hooked up with opposite polarity, they will sound like the bass is missing.

 

[jfrye]

Every lamp cord, zip cord, or speaker wire I've seen has some way to see or feel the difference between the two conductors.

• Insulation color, like red or black.
• Print on the insulation of one conductor, but not the other.
• Color of wire under clear insulation. One conductor is copper and the other is tinned, or silver-colored.
• One conductor has a thread in it, but not the other.
• Insulation on one conductor has one or several ridges molded on the surface. It can be easier to feel this with the edge of a finger nail than to see it.

When all else fails, use Verdinut's method. Hook up two speakers in stereo and listen. Then switch the wiring polarity on one of the speakers and listen again. When wires and speakers are hooked up with the same polarity, they will have good sounding bass. When you've got speakers hooked up with opposite polarity, they will sound like the bass is missing.

"Color of wire under clear insulation. One conductor is copper and the other is tinned, or silver-colored." This must be what I have, I can work with that. Cool! Thanks. And I got a neat flashlight too!

 

[David Bookman]

You can play this signal acoustically.

 

[David Bookman]

test disk
2,3,4 tracks by frequency
sorry, that in Russian, it may be useful to you

 

[David Bookman]

translate.google:
On the FSQ Audio Doc, the phasing is determined separately for medium, low and high frequencies. On track number 2 recorded the voice of the announcer with the words: “Mid frequencies. Phase". These words should be heard from the center of the sound stage. Then the announcer says: “Midrange. Antiphase. In this case, the narration should be reproduced with a lower volume level and (or) defocused for the listener and (or) shifted to one side or the other from the center. If the speaker’s voice on the last words sounds louder and more focused in the center, in the mid-frequency region the audio system is acoustically out of phase.
Similarly, a phasing check is carried out in the high-frequency band along track No. 3 and in the low-frequency band - at No. 4. For greater simplicity, or if the home audio complex is single-sided, the phasing check is carried out immediately in the entire frequency band using the pink noise signal recorded on track 16. The phase signal should be located exactly in the middle of the sound stage.

 

[Andon]

I dont know if thats going to help but my way is: Take AAA battery and connect it to you speaker, watch the membrane of the driver, if it pulls in you got it backwards. If the membrane comes out you got it right.