Directional cables - what does that really mean?

Are you positive?

@secretguy 

I mistakenly ran an interconnect in the wrong direction. It immediately swelled up and burst. There were electrons all over the floor. Took me an hour to Swiffer them all up.

That is a bit negative.
(Maybe I am more of an optimist?)

To quote one anonymous engineer, "we put arrows on the cables because customers expect this". 🤣

I mistakenly ran an interconnect in the wrong direction. It immediately swelled up and burst. There were electrons all over the floor. Took me an hour to Swiffer them all up.

i am so amazed of the technical or engineering discussion. so many talented people here. they must be engineer, inventor, professor or even scientist or even astrounaut who can tell. by the way i only have glimpse of the ideas and i guess learned some basics. but am amazed of the deep technical exposition even i dont understand fully or not at all and its really fun and surprised me.

and by the way, no worry too much of the normal hum of the audio. hum of passing car, refrigerator, electric fan, etc is much louder. happy listening.

and beside, you dont hear hum when music is playing.

thanks, daniel

by the way, can also try look for siver($) interconnect or rca or make one diy.

i would prefer the regular, original or normal rca than directional. simpler the better.

bottom line is avoid interference, use short cables if possible, separate cables to each other and power line, turn off other signal or tv or other equipment, that is isolate the system. even cell phone. these should eliminate or reduce hum..but everything start from quality amplifier/receiver, turntable, cassette player, digital player and the speaker. and also you dont hear the normal hum while playing or hearing the music.

thanks, daniel

Why all the technical discussion. Just be sure arrow points toward instrument you are plugging it in too. My audioauest have arrows on cable. Arrow toward amp. Arrow toward speakers. Best sound when you do this. 

andy2
At least it gives me something to chew on while I am sipping Cabernet Sauvignon lols. 

>>>>One assumes you mean instead of your cud. 😬

I wish I didn’t believe in cable directionality but its real in some, but not all, instances. I have refrained from posting on this topic because I don’t want to distract the skeptics from their planning phases  of storming Area 51.

other things that benefit from directionality:
1) swallowing food is better in one direction than the other
2) my experiments indicate that, in general, speakers tend to sound better facing the listener than otherwise
3) incoming power, as opposed to outgoing, tends to positively affect sound reproduction
4) I also prefer incoming fund flows to outgoing

peace...

If importance of cable directionality is anything to go by.....none.

Going beyond directional cables for just a sec, how many other things in the audio system should be controlled for directionality? Even pseudo skeptics should feel free to join in. 🤔

At least it gives me something to chew on while I am sipping Cabernet Sauvignon lols.

This thread has been resurrected after, or going on for, almost four years.

Maybe it is time for everyone to start playing Pac-Man instead. It will be as useful and more entertaining.

Even the original poster has not posted on Audiogon in almost two years. Nice legacy he left with this thread.

If wires get their "directionality"  depending on how they are drawn out at the factory what does that mean for when you make a interconnect or speaker cable?  

I have recently been experimenting with DIY interconnects and I have to admit I didn't pay any attention to how the wire comes off of a spool.  I cut everything to size and who knows if any of the wires got their directions reversed when I put everything together.  If I mismatch their direction will that cable always be a Dud?  Or will it sound better since the "diodes" are canceling themselves out during the positive and negative voltage swings?

If someone doubts that a wire is directional because they don't hear any difference, why don't they just say they don't hear any difference?

Because then we would know.

elizabeth
If they are directional... Are they MARKED North? South East West?
Maybe you bought a cable to use in the South by SouthWest with an elevation to the beginning to end of 27 degrees downslope, only to turn back and rise at an angle 63 degrees to final point due North? What then???

>>>>Always nice to see some more bloviation from the Wicked Witch of the West.

All of that may be true, it’s all been said before, but it actually doesn’t explain why the sound is better in one direction vs the other. If resistance was the deciding factor we’d all just use large gauge wire. Hel-loo! The only thing a difference in measured resistance tells means is the wire is not symmetrical. It’s evidence but not proof. So, it looks like we’re back where we started. Nowheresville.

As I understand it, wire is pulled through a specific size thingy (can't think f the name) the outer diameter tends to fold back creating measurable resistance necessitating a direction of least resistance to be determined  

Pop Quiz! Multiple choice! Hooray!! 🤗

More money 💰 than _______ (fill in the blank)

a. Tire irons
b. Donkeys
c. Potatoes
d. Asparagus
e. Cheese Balls
f.  None of the above

I had a dream in which I was like Michael J Fox in Back to the Future waking up like super rich, then woke up again back to dead poor lols.

The only time importance of cable directionality would be proven is if the song started playing backwards.

Look inside, Peanut. What brought you to this point? If the rules you follow brought you to this place what good are your rules? 🔜 😳 And congrats on posting an almost grammatically correct sentence. 🤗

Directional cables - what does that really mean?

It means if you are worried about cable directionality there is a strong likelihood that you life is heading in the wrong direction.

You’re very close. Donkeys are directional, too. 🐪

I'll go with the asparagus on a whim, those are directional

Pop Quiz! Multiple choice! Hooray!! 🤗

More money 💰 than _______ (fill in the blank)

a. Tire irons
b. Donkeys
c. Potatoes
d. Asparagus
e. Cheese Balls
f.  None of the above

Audiophiles would be much better off if they believed in too much rather than too little.

Skepticism, real skepticism, involves curiosity and investigation to find out what is actually going on. Skepticism on this thread, however, is simply beating your chest and repeating the same tired mantra: This cannot be! Directionality disobeys the Laws of Science! It’s not RF!

That’s not skepticism, folks. Geez! You guys act as if all this directionality stuff is something new. It’s not. It’s been known for twenty five years, you know, by the ones who know it. 🤗

@andy2 

Thank you for the thoughtful perspective on this issue.

Seems to me that what it boils down to is that any actual differences in "directionality" of conductors is infinitesimal and therefore can have zero influence on an audio frequency signal.

We're not dealing with RF here.
 

Let’s take a deep breath, gentle readers, and go back and look a little more closely at the original post OP for a moment, shall we?

“Directional cables - what does that really mean?

Some (most) cables do sound differently depending on which end is connected to which component. It is asserted that the conductor grain orientation is determining the preferential current flow. That might well be, but in most (all) cases the audio signal is AC (electrons going back and forth in the cable), without a DC component to justify a directional flow. Wouldn’t that mean that in the 1st order, a phase change should give the same effect as a cable flip?”


>>>There are enough Strawman arguments in that paragraph to choke a 🐎. To whit,

”...in most (all) cases the audio signal is AC (electrons going back and forth in the cable)...”

>>>>>Actually electrons barely move at all 🐌 and they are not (rpt not) the audio signal. Electrons are simply charge carriers. An obvious Strawman argument! 😬

”...without a DC component to justify a directional flow.”

>>>>All wire is directional in DC circuits AND AC circuits.  It’s not true that directionality only occurs in DC circuits. OR that a “DC component” is required for directionality to occur. This is why a fuse located where the power cord enters an amplifier is directional. 🔜 There is a measured difference in resistance of any wire, even a fuse wire, in an AC circuit OR DC circuit. This is obviously a Strawman argument! 😬

”Wouldn’t that mean that in the 1st order, a phase change should give the same effect as a cable flip?”

>>>>>Phase or Polarity change is unrelated to directionality. Phase change is accomplished by switching + and - wires, whereas directionality involves flipping the wires/cables and keeping + and - connections the same/consistent. Of course, it is possible to have both incorrect direction and out of phase conditions simultaneously. Yup, you guessed it - another Strawman argument! 😬

As Richard Feynman said, if what he did could be explained he probably would not have received the Nobel prize.

Seriously? Trying to make sense of that melted my decoder ring.

It means you paid a lot no doubt for something that is not real. You now have bragging rights but no improvement to speak of for audio.

For a moment I thought you were talking about beauty augmentation.

It means you paid a lot no doubt for something that is not real. You now have bragging rights but no improvement to speak of for audio.

Actually, directionality can be measured - and has been measured.

Where’s the data? It has to be actual proven data and not in some guy’s wet dream.  Oh, I got it.  It's one of those "Top Gun" thing where "I can show you but I have to kill you" right?

Actually, directionality can be measured - and has been measured. Wake up and smell the coffee! ☕️ The preferred direction always (rpt always) exhibits lower resistance. It’s not rocket science. 🚀

If  directionality and "diodes" exist in wire then I should be able to detect pulsating DC on the other end when connected incorrectly.

I don't think it will be a simple measurement like you would with discrete components.  These diodes, if they exist as has been claimed, are distributed in the body of the metal in a way that are not as simple as we could call "series", "parallel" or so on as we would characterize discrete components.  Whatever the effect of these diodes in the signal transmission, it will be elusive and difficult to capture.

Can it be measured?  It's possible but to be honest, it may be as complicated as rocket science.  As Richard Feynman said, if what he did could be explained he probably would not have received the Nobel prize.  If directionality is easy to be measured, you probably would have seen someone done it already.

Just like dark matter, dark energy ... just because we have not seen it directly, it does not mean they may not exist.

Be careful. I wouldn’t want you to strain your brain.

That might depend....

Are the mini diodes all in series or are they each bypassed with a mini copper conductor?

Also, which impurity in the copper is a semi-conductor?

Germanium....silicon...or some undiscovered element causing this phenomenon?

I need to ponder these things and get back to you.

I don’t know. You tell me.

If  directionality and "diodes" exist in wire then I should be able to detect pulsating DC on the other end when connected incorrectly.

@geoffkait,  brother you crack me up, I just love partaking of your conversations. What's fascinating to me, that most of the time you even make sense. Genius or crackpot, I don't care , I'll enjoy your wisdom, lunacy, sarcasm or whatever wherever I happen to find it.
You keep on keeping on geoffkait! 

That’s .....very.....good....Andy. You’re ....very....independent

Should I read that from left to right or right to left?