Then probably my understanding is lacking here (never was much of an electrical/electronics engineer). Because the way I see it, it's not that + signal is always greater than -, but that - is "ground", so a stable reference, while + is an oscillating signal that goes above and below the value of -. In the graph of a sine wave, the x axis would be the -, and the sine curve itself would be the +.
Did a quick google search and capacitors can be symmetrical or asymmetrical, but when using asymmetrical capacitors I would imagine there are some diodes or something that ensure the correct polarity at that point in the electrical circuit.
So you and I cannot be correct at the same time. If you are right, then what am I missing?
Well, I am not an EE either (just a hobbyist), so I am certainly no expert on the subject.
But I do know that it all depends on how the particular manufacturer designs the crossover circuit, what exact type of components (such as capacitors) are used, etc.
I have personally never seen an IEM crossover with a diode. That would be a great way to add protection to the circuit though. I suspect they’re not used because they must add some sort of unwanted characteristic (perhaps affecting the sound in some negative way).
Also, some capacitors are more forgiving than others. Tantalum capacitors (the kind used in most IEM crossovers) are, I believe, particularly sensitive to reverse polarity. Some go into a degraded state that they can recover from, similar to a circuit breaker tripping. Others can actually blow open like a fuse, and be permanently damaged. In the case of the CIEM manufacturer I mentioned, that is apparently what happened and they sounded extremely bad. They had to be sent back to the manufacturer for replacement of the damaged components.
Also, from the research I did previously when looking into this exact topic, I seem to remember one of the defining differences when considering the capacitor damage risk was the fact that audio voltages use AC not DC. I don’t remember the exact specifics of why that mattered, but the articles I found on the topic had an explanation that made perfect sense at the time.
Before that, I never really cared too much about it because I never seemed to have any problems. But ever since reading that information, I am anal about determining the correct polarity of cables and IEMs before I even use them for the 1st time. So much so that I usually engrave a very small dot or mark (to indicate +) on the cable and IEM itself so I don’t screw it up down the road. Since doing that, it makes it idiot proof and easy to keep it all straight, especially since I’m always swapping around aftermarket cables a lot.
If you search Google for capacitor polarity and tantalum capacitor information, there was quite a bit of information on the topic and I’m sure you’ll run into many of the same resources I found.
) - that's about it for me
