Car audio question, but it is more fundamental than car specific, I checked out the car audio forum, but little to no traffic.

I just purchased some replacement speakers for my wife's Honda mini-van. One was rattling when any bass was heard and the speakers I purchased, while cheap were a nice step up from the OEM models. So, installation appears to be really easy, but I cannot figure out what the polarity of the speaker wires are, by sight alone. The after market wire harnesses allow the wires to be connected either way. I will try and see if Honda can help, but would not hold my breath on that one. Any thoughts on what I could do to figure this out?

Can I go ahead and wire up and see how they sound, how would I know if they were wrong? I am assuming I could tell, but not as blatant as the songs playing backwards.... although that may allow me to confirm once and for all the satanic messages in the Mickey Mouse songs Or could that damage the speakers or radio?

Thanks for your help.