Term: Polarity (often stated incorrectly as phase)

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Polarity refers to the positive and negative orientation of two or more audio (AC voltage) signal waveforms. If two waves are of identical frequency but opposite polarity, one positive and the other negative, they will cancel out, producing no output when mixed at equal levels. They are then said to be “out of polarity.” Loudspeaker polarity is maintained by matching “+” connections to each other and  “–“ connections to each other. Audio connections maintain polarity by following conventions such as ensuring pin 2 of an XLR cable is + while pin 3 is -.