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Directionality of wire

I am a fan of Chris Sommovigo's Black Cat and Airwave interconnects. I hope he does not mind me quoting him or naming him on this subject, but Chris does not mark directionality of his IC's. I recently wrote him on the subject and he responded that absent shunting off to ground/dialectric designs, the idea of wire directionality is a complete myth. Same with resistors and fuses. My hunch is that 95% of IC "manufacturers", particularly the one man operations of under $500 IC's mark directionality because they think it lends the appearance of technical sophistication and legitimacy. But even among the "big boys", the myth gets thrown around like so much accepted common knowledge. Thoughts? Someone care to educate me on how a simple IC or PC or speaker cable or fuse without a special shunting scheme can possibly have directionality? It was this comment by Stephen Mejias (then of Audioquest and in the context of Herb Reichert's review of the AQ Niagra 1000) that prompts my question;

Thank you for the excellent question. AudioQuest provided an NRG-10 AC cable for the evaluation. Like all AudioQuest cables, our AC cables use solid conductors that are carefully controlled for low-noise directionality. We see this as a benefit for all applications -- one that becomes especially important when discussing our Niagara units. Because our AC cables use conductors that have been properly controlled for low-noise directionality, they complement the Niagara System’s patented Ground-Noise Dissipation Technology. Other AC cables would work, but may or may not allow the Niagara to reach its full potential. If you'd like more information on our use of directionality to minimize the harmful effects of high-frequency noise, please visit http://www.audioquest.com/directionality-its-all-about-noise/ or the Niagara 1000's owner's manual (available on our website).

Thanks again.

Stephen Mejias
AudioQuest


Read more at https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-15-audioquest-niagara-1000-hifiman-he1000-v2-p...


128x128fsonicsmith
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
+1 Almarg

...a voice of reason in an ocean of purveyors of fanciful misinformation
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dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Hilarious coming from one of the biggest fish in that ocean shadorne.

Dave
smikell
2 posts
 
Ignoring all the wonderful comments before me, the original statement was about an NRG-10 AC cable being directional. Forgetting audio signal connectors for a second, and commenting strictly on AC power cables ONLY, I find the whole subject silly and mute based on one simple fact. AC is alternating current, as in it changes direction 120 times a second, or sixty cycles. That's why every AC-DC power supply design uses some form of a bridge rectifier. And to state on the NRG-10 web-page, "No matter how perfect an AC power source, distortion is added within any AC cable, especially within a stranded cable. Even the most sophisticated filters and power supplies cannot eliminate this cable-induced distortion." I would think that just a few audio equipment designers would have been insulted by now.
Thanks, Steve
genez
220 posts
 
>>>>I recently wrote him on the subject and he responded that absent shunting off to ground/dialectric designs, the idea of wire directionality is a complete myth. Same with resistors and fuses. <<<<<

He is going to alienate a good number of audiophiles if what you stated was an accurate quote of what he said.. Well... brand new IC’s may not be directional out of the box. And, brand new speaker cables may not be. But, after long use? Reversing the direction on my system is an obvious change in what is heard. As for fuses? He should not say that. It will make some audiophiles think he can not hear. On a good system? One that you are familiar with? It becomes obvious. That is... if the system has transparency to begin with. Sorry... it might turn out to be a form of "color blindness of the ears" that some do not realize they have. It may be a DNA issue. One that some can, and some can not, hear these differences. No. Its not my imagination. I have repeated this .. and every time I get the same results.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,838 posts
 
@genez,
Careful my friend, or you’ll be relegated to the loony bin. It appears that your own experiences are not good enough, no matter how many times you’ve heard it. You have to submit to rigorous double blind testing, before a panel of others peers, who are predetermined to just write it off as of no significance. 😉

All the best,
Nonoise
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