Why Is There a Phase Lock Function in the First Place?

[MinorKey]

Hello,

First of all, sorry for the somewhat misleading subject line, but I just couldn't come up with anything better. :-)
I know what the phase lock function does - if there are multiple parts assigned to one MIDI channel, it makes sure that all of them start playing at once when you instruct the INTEGRA to play a note. The manual says that turning it on can increase the delay before the sound is produced. If my understanding of how digital synths/computers work is correct, everything takes at least a very tiny bit of time and so this is perfectly normal. That being said the phase lock function is still a bit mysterious to me.

To explain what I mean, I assigned all 16 parts to channel 1. All parts used supernatural tones. The sound was somewhat muffled and distorted when playing, but only because my monitors couldn't take all that sound. Granted, I have only tested it with playing single notes and simple chords, but as far as latency was concerned, I haven't really noticed much of a difference between when the phase lock function was turned on and when it was turned off. Of course, this is a good thing and it means that there's really no reason why not turn this function on when having multiple parts on one MIDI channel (in my case anyway), but here's what I'd be curious to know. It's more a general synth question than a INTEGRA one, but it would be interesting to know which of the below you believe to be true. I started wondering about this, because of the 5 synths I have had, the INTEGRA is the only one that has the option to sync patches like this.

1. Other synths don't sync patches like this at all and therefore the INTEGRA is better in this regard.
2. Other synths don't offer this functionality because they don't need it - layered patches are always synced.

I'm not sure we'll ever know the right answer, but I hope someone cares to speculate. :-)

Have a great day.

[jicamasalad]

I have a GUESS - only a guess, I'm out of my depth here, but it strikes me that possibly the "Phase Lock" has more to do with the timing as it relates to spatial placement in the 5.1 output; phase can have a huge effect on our perception of location, and potentially if you have a complex Motional Surround setup, you might want to know that phase is accurate between different parts to produce the spatial effect you are after in terms of panning and depth. Just a GUESS, because I don't use that feature of my Integra, rather, simply the balanced stereo outs!

[MinorKey]

Thanks for the reply, jicamasalad,
Your hypothesis sounds interesting. It might well be as you suggest. Of course, it's hard to tell, but it certainly makes more sense than what I have been able to come up with. :-)
For the record, I don't use the motional surround feature either. I may use it at some point in the future, but so far the stereo outs have suited my needs better. :-)

I have a GUESS - only a guess, I'm out of my depth here, but it strikes me that possibly the "Phase Lock" has more to do with the timing as it relates to spatial placement in the 5.1 output; phase can have a huge effect on our perception of location, and potentially if you have a complex Motional Surround setup, you might want to know that phase is accurate between different parts to produce the spatial effect you are after in terms of panning and depth. Just a GUESS, because I don't use that feature of my Integra, rather, simply the balanced stereo outs!