Phase selection on active subwoofer

[Christian]

Hi,

I recently bought a subwoofer for my car (cheap brand), and because it is active I thought I'd turn to you guys.
There's a switch for shifting between two "phases". It reads 0 degrees and 180 degrees.

What does this mean? I don't hear any difference between these two phases. There are two RCA plugs so I think it uses both left and right signal for bass reproduction.

Best Regards,
Christian

[FEThead]

My guess is that the switch effectively reverses the wires going to the sub woofer. For the best reproduction of a drum beat, for example, you want the cones on the woofer(s) and sub woofer both moving in the same direction (in or out) at the same time. Other wise you will get some cancellation.

If you hear any difference between the two switch settings it will be in the frequency range where your system crosses over from woofer(s) to sub woofer. Use which ever setting sounds best to you.

Hope that helps and makes sense.