Your question about absolute polarity is important. In an ideal world a recorded kick drum when hit will cause the air to move toward the listener. This will happen if phase integrity is maintained throughout the audio chain. The audible effect is call the Wood Effect. Look it up on google.
Speaker terminal polarity
I just unpacked my Cary 300B-SE mono blocks after being in storage for over 15 years. Both speaker outputs (on each amp) look identical (not color coded) and neither is labeled + or -. I tried a continuity test against the amp chassis and both terminals read the same. How do I determine + from -? Does it matter as long as I have each amp wired to its corresponding speaker the same way?
I must have asked this question when I got the amps 17 years ago, but can't locate the thread. Standing by with red and black sharpie pens if necessary.