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Directional interconnect cables

I see several big-name interconnect vendors mark directional arrows on the outer jacket of the cables.

How is it that a wire can be directional? It's a simple electrical conductor, how is it possible for it to be directional, to sound "better" when connected in one direction vs. the other? This does not make sense to me, perhaps someone here can explain how this can possibly be so...
lupinthe3rd
102 responses Add your response
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Point the arrow toward a common ground (usually the pre-amp or integrated amp). It's not showing the direction of signal, but the ground.

You may or may not hear a difference, depending on the freedom from 60-cycle noise in your system.

Dave
carl109
134 posts
 
This has been discussed in previous threads. Cheaper cables use the shield as a conductor, whereas better cables use two internal conductors (+ and -) with a separate shield. In directional cables this shield is only connected (earthed) at one end, hence the arrow.

I'll leave the more technically-savvy guys to say whether this has an impact on sound quality.
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