You are talking about absolute polarity not phase. Phase,commonly, would be the relationshipo between two microphones or the relationship between two speakers like ones connected improperly. This is easy to hear.
Polarity on multi-mic'd recording may be all over the place. The kick drum trick with the woofer is fine and easier to tell than a lot of polarity issues but comb filtering in the high end in general or out of phase mics will not be corrected by flipping absolute polarity. You might like the sound one way better than the other though and your ears should be the judge. It's rare that i hear a one or two mic recording that is out of polarity.
Of course, the phase coherence on the gear you own makes a difference too. Hell, everything makes a little difference.
Polarity on multi-mic'd recording may be all over the place. The kick drum trick with the woofer is fine and easier to tell than a lot of polarity issues but comb filtering in the high end in general or out of phase mics will not be corrected by flipping absolute polarity. You might like the sound one way better than the other though and your ears should be the judge. It's rare that i hear a one or two mic recording that is out of polarity.
Of course, the phase coherence on the gear you own makes a difference too. Hell, everything makes a little difference.