I think Audioquest designed the cable to leak. Or more specifically, if you use an ohm meter on the return leg, the resistence is not the same as the positive leg. I discovered it by cutting one open to be use as a lead wire inside a pre-amp. What I found was, if you use 3 length of negative legs and twisted it together, run some current through it, it'll get pretty hot. Hot to touch anyway. The result is consistent with all the CV-4 that I have tried.
