Phase

Phase refers to the timing position of a sound wave, relative to another. Two signals of the same frequency can be in phase (peaks and troughs aligned) or out of phase (waveforms misaligned). When similar sounds are out of phase, they may cancel each other partially or completely, causing issues like volume loss, frequency dips, or mono incompatibility. Managing phase is crucial in situations involving multiple microphones, layered sounds, or stereo mixing.