Technology
Polarity, phase and delay
The waveform of an audio signal exhibits a positive segment above the zero line and a negative segment below. Sometimes the waveform looks symmetrical and other times asymmetrical. Usually, the waveform’s shape and polarity doesn’t matter until we begin to mix the signals, i.e., when we have signals from two (or more) microphones that we want to combine or perhaps distribute for spatial imaging. Then, it is important to understand the terms polarity, phase and delay.
This article describes the three terms with regard to microphone techniques and technology.