Stop Audio Problems Before They Stop Your Show
The Galaxy Audio CRICKET CPTS Speaker Polarity & Continuity Test Set is a fast, reliable speaker polarity tester and continuity tester designed to verify the health of your entire audio system before the audience ever hears a note. Whether you’re setting up a live sound system, installing permanent AV equipment, troubleshooting rental gear, or servicing a complex signal chain, the CRICKET quickly identifies polarity and continuity issues that can rob your system of clarity, impact, and performance.
From microphones and cables to mixers, processors, wireless systems, amplifiers, and speakers, the CRICKET helps ensure that every component works together exactly as it should.
Because Confidence Before the Show Matters
Nothing raises your stress level faster than a sound system that just doesn’t sound right minutes before showtime.
A single speaker wired backward. A mislabeled cable. A reversed XLR connector. An improperly repaired speaker cabinet. Any one of these issues can leave your PA system sounding thin, weak, unfocused, or suffering from destructive phase cancellation—while valuable setup time disappears as you search for the cause.
The CRICKET eliminates the guesswork.
Instead of chasing mysterious polarity problems through an entire signal chain, the CRICKET lets you verify every connection in minutes. You’ll know your speakers, cables, microphones, processors, and other equipment are wired correctly before the performance begins.
The best troubleshooting session is the one you never have to experience. By confirming your system is in proper polarity before the first note is played, the CRICKET helps prevent embarrassing audio problems, unnecessary stress, and hours of troubleshooting—so you can focus on delivering an exceptional performance instead of solving last-minute technical issues.
Trusted by Touring Professionals
“The Galaxy Audio Cricket is a lifesaver—allowing simple or very complex systems to be checked for phase all along the signal path.
The Cricket has been in my toolkit for over 20 years and during that time has checked and helped me phase multiple amplifier stacks for Megadeth, White Zombie, Stephen Stills, Bon Jovi, E Street Band, Paul Simon and The Who.
We have also used it to solve the ‘mysteries’ of rental equipment and house PA systems, sometimes finding simple cabling faults which had remained undiscovered for years.
When all your stuff works together, it works its best.”
— Michael Kaye, Touring Guitar Technician
Find Problems in Minutes Instead of Hours
The battery-powered CRICKET is a two-piece Speaker Polarity & Continuity Test Set consisting of a Send unit and a Receive unit.
The Send unit generates a precision pulse through the speaker, cable, microphone, wireless system, or other device being tested. The Receive unit instantly analyzes that pulse and clearly indicates whether the signal remains in proper polarity using bright red and green LED indicators.
Each unit includes a convenient quick-reference guide on the bottom, making operation simple whether you’re an experienced audio technician or using the CRICKET for the first time.
Before testing, simply place the Receive unit’s three-position power switch in the BAT position to verify its internal battery is healthy. A weak battery can produce inconsistent or erratic readings, so this quick pre-check ensures the CRICKET is ready to deliver accurate, dependable test results.
Test Virtually Your Entire Audio System
The CRICKET makes it easy to verify polarity and continuity throughout nearly every stage of your signal chain, including:
- Speakers and speaker cabinets
- Passive and active loudspeakers
- XLR and 1/4-inch cables
- Balanced and unbalanced audio lines
- Audio snakes up to 2,000 feet long
- Microphones
- Wireless microphone systems
- Mixers
- Signal processors
- Patch bays
- Amplifiers
- Installed sound systems
The CRICKET can even identify which XLR connector pin is hot, drive transformer-isolated audio snakes, plug directly into speaker cabinets to test individual components, and verify microphone polarity using its built-in speaker and microphone.
Whether you’re a touring musician, front-of-house engineer, monitor engineer, AV installer, church technical director, production company, rental house, broadcast engineer, school technician, or anyone responsible for professional audio systems, the CRICKET is one of those tools you’ll wonder how you ever worked without.
Why Polarity Matters
Proper polarity is essential for achieving the full performance of any sound system.
When two speakers reproduce the same audio signal but one is wired with reversed polarity, portions of the sound waves cancel each other instead of working together. The result can be weak bass, reduced output, poor vocal intelligibility, inconsistent coverage, and an overall lack of clarity and impact.
Polarity issues commonly occur after repairing speaker cabinets, soldering cables, installing new equipment, reversing banana plugs, replacing drivers, or making changes to an existing audio system. Because many of these problems aren’t immediately visible, they can be difficult and time-consuming to diagnose without the proper testing equipment.
The CRICKET provides a fast, dependable way to verify your entire system every time you set up, helping ensure your equipment performs exactly as it was designed.
Features
- Verify polarity and continuity throughout your entire signal chain
- Test speakers, microphones, cables, wireless systems, amplifiers, and audio snakes
- Quickly identify polarity inversions in mixers, signal processors, and installed sound systems
- Built-in speaker simplifies microphone polarity testing
- Built-in microphone makes speaker testing fast and convenient
- High-level output easily tests cable runs up to 2,000 feet
- Identifies the “hot” pin on XLR microphone connectors
- Tests balanced and unbalanced audio lines
- Standard XLR and 1/4-inch TRS input/output connections
- Quick battery verification confirms the Receive unit is ready for accurate polarity testing
- Compact, battery-powered design for portable field use
David Carey –
Great tool, easy to use, lots of features, and a critical part of the audio toolbox. I’ve sorted out bad wiring, polarity issues, and more. I won’t go to a gig or into a new studio without it!