Phase Angle Phase Shift Calculator

Phase Angle, Time Delay and Frequency Relationship

The relationship between the phase angle (φ), time delay (Δt) and frequency (f) is given by the following equations.

Phase Angle (Degrees)

Where:

Phase Angle (Radians)

Wavelength

The wavelength is calculated using:

Where:

Time Delay Due to Distance

Where:

Rule of Thumb:
Sound takes approximately 3 ms to travel 1 metre through air.

Speed of Sound vs Air Temperature

Example

For a fixed time delay of Δt = 0.5 ms, the resulting phase shift is:

Phase Shift from Distance

Since

Δt = a / c

the phase angle becomes

φ = (a × f × 360) / c

Phase Shift vs Polarity Reversal

Phase shift and polarity reversal are often confused, but they are completely different.

• A phase shift introduces a time delay between two versions of the same signal.
• A polarity reversal flips the waveform upside down without introducing any time delay.

Polarity reversal can be achieved using:

• An inverting amplifier
• A transformer
• Swapping pins 2 and 3 of an XLR connector
• Multiplying the digital signal by -1

Therefore, polarity reversal is not the same as a phase shift.

Linear Phase Response

A linear phase response does not mean the phase angle remains constant.

Since

φ = 360 × f × Δt

the phase angle naturally increases with frequency for a fixed time delay.

• Doubling the frequency doubles the phase angle.
• Tripling the frequency triples the phase angle.

This is the expected behaviour of a linear-phase system.

Angular Frequency

Example

Given

y = 50 sin (5000t)