What colors match for interconnects?


When I'm matching up interconnects with components, there is a strange little conundrum I sometimes encounter. The three colors; white, black & red. Or sometimes no colors, just left or right. Is there some simple rule of thumb for always selecting the right color or side? For example, is white, or left, always hot(pos)? What if your RCA posts are red & white, but your cables red & black?
bunnyrabid
Red=Right Black/white=Left If you always let red be your right-the other one regardless of color will be your left.
RED I like to use for Right due to them both starting with R. White is left. Most equipment is marked red for right and white for left. It certainly doesn't matter though what system you use.
The logic of using the time honored traditional Red for right and Black for left to denote channels is obvious. I think Bunnyrabid was referring to WAF type issues so if you furniture sheme is light wood and your gear silver what color. I say White, Grey or Black always works well but don't use color as a criteria myself. If you have Dark wood try medium or dark blue. Red works nicely with Black gear. But these things only become necessary if there is a WAF. I can tell you that personally I don't particularily like garrish colors like bright purple or pink or plaids. (I have some Salmon colored PCs that have black woven drains YECCH!!)
I've found in all my years that connecting the red wire (positive) to the right side of my equipment sounds better than using any other color, and yes for all you smart a$$es out there, I did A/B it. I think the ions are so used to going in that direction with the red colored wire and if you switch the wire colors around they get confused. That may account for an unwanted compressed sound as some confused ions start going the wrong direction or just sit there still in a quandary not knowing what to do. Speaking of confused, have you ever been caught in rush-hour traffic behind somebody on a cell phone? Same thing.
It is also highly possible that the positive ions like red (as a color, so do I) and the negative ions favor white, I don’t know. You know as we get older and possibly more resistant to change, maybe electricity is acting out in the same manor. I mean, just think how old electricity is and it’s been following the same rules for so long. Suddenly, some relative new comer (or some old confused fellow) decides to hook the components up a different way, now what? Just a theory! Personally, this is at the very root of why I stay with two-channel reproduction. When they introduced that third yellow wire and then all those other speakers, why quite frankly, it was too much for me. Don’t even get me started to why I can’t seem to pry myself free of vinyl Lps or tube amps! ;^)
Happy Listening!
Always needing to give my two cents I am with raytheprinter; red is right.

Chuck
So R_f I think you may have hit upon why Audio Research preamps sound so good (to many ears), where most companies put the left channel in/outs on the top and the right on the bottom, ARC reverses this and puts the right on the top. I'm sure this and your "positive ions prefer red" theory account many of the variations heard in today's equipment! ;)
Bmcleod, See, this stuff isn't as tough as it looks. Your not a rocket scientist are you? Me neither. No offense meant if you were.
I've always wondered what the draw toward ARC equipment was, now I know. ;^) Cheers!