Output 2 Normal Phase setting is out-of-phase? (NOT A BUG)

[joegold]

I just noticed some weirdness while listening simultaneously through my studio monitors (via S/PDIF Out to an RME Babyface and Yamaha HS80Ms) and my guitar cab(s) (via Out 2 and 2 different power amps).

It sounded very hollow, with no bottom end, the archetype of out-of-phase audio.

The TotalMix software included with the Babyface allows me to reverse the phase of the signal going to the HS80Ms and when I did that the hollowness was replaced with normal sounding audio.

Leaving the Babyface phase unchanged but changing the Out 2 Phase via the Axe's I/O menu I could also defeat the hollow sound.

When plugging an unbalanced cable from Out 1 into my power amp(s) and cab(s) the normal phase on the RME was in phase with the Normal Out 1 phase setting as well as my guitar cab(s).

I can also reverse the phase of the signal coming through S/PDIF Out by using the Axe's I/O menu to Invert the phase of Out 1 and then the signal going out of Out 2 is in phase even though the I/O menu shows Out 2's phase as being "Normal".

I have not tried this yet with USB audio or by connecting the Axe's analog outs to the RME's analog Ins.
So at first I thought that this could be an issue solely related to S/PDIF output from the Axe or even to the cheap RCA to Toslink S/PDIF adapter I'm using.
But if that were the case then when I ran the analog signal from Out 1 into my cab(s) it too should have been out-of-phase with the S/PDIF signal going into the RME, and it wasn't.

So, this seems to imply that Out 1 and Out 2 of the Axe are actually out-of-phase with each other (even though the Axe's I/O menu shows them as being in "Normal" phase).
Unless, of course, I'm missing something.

Before I go plugging and unplugging my stuff trying to further define what's going on here, can anybody else confirm a similar issue on their system?

Note: I've already tried this with 2 different power amps, although used the same sore-bought speaker cable both times.
So I'm confident that the phase of the signal going to the power amp(s) and guitar cab(s) is "normal".

 

[shasha]

I would suspect the cables. I'd verify, but I loaned out my PA to a friend who has more or less just taken over ownership.

 

[FractalAudio]

Probably the cab. The concept of phase in a cab is nebulous. Some cabs are wired so that the speaker moves out with positive voltage, others it moves in. That's why phase switches are part of a lot of equipment.

 

[joegold]

OK.
I guess my ears are just playing tricks on me then.

But I've checked the continuity of my cables and the jacks/wires on my cabs.
The tip of the cable jack IS connected to + on the speaker (red) and the sleeve of the jack IS connected to - on the speaker (black).

I've done this both with a Bryston power amp and a Matrix power amp.
I've done it with two different cabinets.
I've tried it with stock Fractal IRs and OH IRs.
And when I reverse the phase of either the Out 1 or Out 2 signal (either using the Axe's I/O menu or my software mixer's features) things sound fuller with more bass than when both outs are set to "Normal" phase.
I don't really know why I'm hearing that but that's what I'm hearing.

Maybe my ears really don't recognize the out-of-phase sound after all?
Maybe it has something to do with my room?
Is there anyplace else in the Axe where I may have inadvertently swapped the Out 1 and 2 phase somehow?

 

[joegold]

I guess my ears are just playing tricks on me then.

I've spent a bit more time looking into this and that's the only conclusion I can come to.

IOW Everything's fine and I'm apparently just a goof.