Cable Direction

Toward the speakers.

If your cables have arrows then you should always have them "pointed" in the direction the audio signal is travelling. Source >>> Preamp >>> Amp >>> Speakers

Whether or not it makes a difference is another can of worms...

Just to clarify, the current is AC, or Alternating Current, so it goes both ways. Therefore it is better to think of the directionality in terms of a "source" and a "load". In a metrology (calibration) lab, the shield of a cable is usually only connected at the source end in order to prevent ground loops (I'm simplifying this a little). The arrows on the cable should be pointing toward the load, which in the case of a pre-amp to power-amp connection would be the power-amp.

Are they Nordost cables? Nordost arrows should point at the source of the signal, not the destination.

My understaning is that unless there is some shielding on one end only it does not make any difference as long as you are consistent. There is some difference of opinion as to whether this makes any difference. The theory is that at the molecular level current creates some one way path (which is hard to understand given we are dealing with current that changes direction each 1/2 cycle)or allows gas to escape or something.....

www.soundstage.com/yfiles/yfiles200005.htm presents some of the views of those who are suppose to know such things.

Sincerely, I remain(even more than usual)

Mr Strassner, the cable genius behind HMS cables says that it does make a whole lot of a difference.
This guy is developing the measuremant banks and instruments in super conductor tests,(special super cooled conductors, who loose their electric resistance at one point and science hopes to eventually help solving mankind's energy problems with super conductors) besides his audiophile line of HMS cables.
He is one of the world-wide authorities to ask about cables and currents. And yes, his cables come with arrows. As a stout scientist, he does not believe in some sort of Voodoo and if he thinks that at least in his cables it does make a difference, than we laypeople can trust his superior knowledge of currents and conductors.
Since you only have two choices to connect your cables anyway, why not follow your cable manufacturer's recommendation and hook them up accordingly?
I assume that even if you do not gain anything, you can at least have some rest in mind that you followed your manufacturers guidelines. So what do you loose by follwing these outlines?....Right, you can only gain.

Roger Sanders of Innersound has an area on his site (innersound.net )with regards to these theories.

I agree with the info on the Innersound site. After having many of the highest of "high-end" cables (or should I say "tone controls"), I find the cables from Innersound to be as good as...or better than any others. The Innersound cables are not directional.

For what it's worth...from BMW to Intel/Microsoft, to IBM, to NASA, wires and signal traces are not thought of as directional.

However, this is a great profit center for many, many audio interconnect/wire companies.

The Nordost website says that Nordost cables are not directional as manufactured, but that after 70 or 80 hours of play, they will sound better in the direction used. They suggest pointing the arrow in the direction of signal flow - obviously just as a marker. It should be a simple matter to flip the direction and test the sound both ways, but I confess to not having tried it.

I asked a friend of mine who is an expert in these things and he says no matter what way you connect the cable the arrow points towards your wallet.

Sincerely, I remain

Nordost must haved had a change in policy, probably because it caused confusion with other brands. A nordost box I have in front of me sais the opposite (at source) of this below from their website:
Question:
What direction should the arrows on the cable
point?

Answer:
Unless otherwise noted on the packaging, speaker cables should
be connected with the directional arrows pointing to the
loudspeakers. Interconnect(signal) cables should be connected
with the arrows pointing in the direction of the signal flow. For
example, from a Tuner, VCR,CD or DVD player the arrows should
go to the preamplifier or amplifier. From the pre-amp the arrows
should go into the amplifier.

Notice the "unless otherwise noted on the packaging".