Phase Calculator — Phase Offset Between Two Signals

At 0 degrees, signals fully reinforce each other. At 90 degrees, the combined level drops by about 3 dB relative to perfect alignment. At 180 degrees, they completely cancel (silence). In practice, this creates comb filtering — certain frequencies cancel while others reinforce, depending on the delay time.

Common causes: multiple microphones at different distances from a source, reflections from walls/surfaces, misaligned speakers, and cable wiring errors (polarity reversal). Even a few millimetres difference in microphone placement can cause audible phase issues at high frequencies.

Phase is frequency-dependent. A 1ms delay causes: 360 degrees (full cycle) at 1 kHz, 180 degrees (cancellation) at 500 Hz, 36 degrees at 100 Hz. This is why comb filtering from time delays creates a series of notches at harmonic intervals.

Options include: physically aligning microphones (3:1 rule), nudging tracks in the DAW timeline, using phase rotation plugins, polarity flip (for 180-degree issues), or high-pass filtering to remove low frequencies where phase issues are most damaging.