In reply to:

I guess the question is "what does positive mean in the context of a speaker ?". Cones go out ? Cones go in ?

The cone moves out with "positive" voltage and in with "negative" voltage on any correctly wired speaker.

Just tested this to make sure my recollection is correct... with an Axiom 4.5" driver, a small paper cone full-range driver salvaged from a "boom box" and a speaker salvaged from a set of Altec-Lansing 2.1 computer speakers.

Bren R.