What do the arrows mean on my cable?

Analog audio is alternating current, the electrons are pushed and pulled down the cable for each wave of the signal. There is no overall direction, the push-pull is EXACTLY symmetrical so there are EXACTLY as many electrons travelling in one direction as the other averaged over time.

That’s a myth.

The electrons do not carry the signal. The electrons really don’t move back and forth either. They vibrate in place and hardly move at all.

The signal does not travel back and forth in the conductor from the source to the load. It travels down the wire in on direction >>>> from the source to the load in the form of an electromagnetic wave at near the speed of light, in a vacuum.

Speed of electricity - Wikipedia

Laws of Physics

The laws I want to talk about are the basic laws of electricity. I am not referring to circuit theory laws as described by Kirchhoff or Ohm, but to the laws governing the electric and magnetic fields. These fields are fundamental to all electrical activity, whether the phenomenon is lightning, ESD, radar, antennas, sunlight, power generation, analog or digital circuitry. These laws are often called Maxwell’s equations.

Utility power is electromagnetic wave energy where the wavelength is near 10 million meters. Lenses can direct light energy; waveguides can direct radar energy; and copper conductors can direct the energy at power frequencies. Thus, we direct energy flow at different frequencies by using different materials. We have learned how to control where we want the field energy to go.

 

If we accept the idea that fields carry energy in space, it must be true at all frequencies. That is the law. If it is true for light, it must also be true for 60Hz power and at DC. For utility power, the energy travels in the space between conductors, not in the conductors. This is not the picture presented by circuit diagrams, where energy seems to be carried by conductors. In digital circuits, the signals and energy travel in the spaces between traces or between traces and conducting surfaces.

Buildings have halls and walls. People move in the halls, not the walls. Circuits have traces and spaces. Signals and energy move in the spaces, not in the traces.

 

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Electricty Misconceptions Spread By K6 Textbooks

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Actual measurements?

Digital interconnect...

A Transport of Delight: CD Transport Jitter

Robert Harley  |  Nov 1, 1993

 

After measuring the first two products (the PS Lambda and the Panasonic SV-3700), I went back and repeated my measurements to make sure the analyzer was giving consistent results, and that my test setup was correct. When I remeasured the SV-3700, I got about half the jitter than when I first measured it!

What caused this reduction in measured jitter?

Changing the direction of the digital interconnect between the transport and the jitter analyzer.

This phenomenon was easily repeatable: put the cable in one direction and read the RMS jitter voltage, then reverse the cable direction and watch the RMS jitter voltage drop. Although I'd heard differences in digital-cable directionality, I was surprised the difference in jitter was so easily measurable—and that the jitter difference was nearly double.

To confirm this phenomenon, I repeated the test five times each on three different digital interconnects. One was a generic audio cable, the other two were Mod Squad Wonder Link and Aural Symphonics Digital Standard, both highly regarded cables specifically designed for digital transmission. The generic cable wasn't directional: it produced the same high jitter in either direction. But both the Wonder Link and the Aural Symphonics had lower jitter levels overall, but different jitter levels depending on their direction. Moreover, the generic cable had higher jitter than either of the two premium cables—even in the latters' "high-jitter" direction.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/transport-delight-cd-transport-jitter-page-4

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@vthokie83 said:

What I do know is (after break in) if I connect the cables in the opposite direction, there is an immediate degradation is sound quality.....easily noticeable, almost a haze over the sound, loss of detail, and with the speaker cables more sibilant.

From my listening experiences as well. It is said all wire that is drawn through a die is directional. Experimenting, listening to ICs made from stranded wire I could not hear any differences in changing cable direction. ICs made using solid core conductors I can hear differences when the cables are flipped end to end.

ICs cable made of solid core silver wire conductors were/are the most noticeable.

A great IC cable to experiment with to hear differences in cable directionality is Clear Day silver ICs. From my listening experience they sound best with arrow pointing to the receiving equipment.

Coax digital cables with a solid core conductor are also directional.

What I do know is (after break in) if I connect the cables in the opposite direction, there is an immediate degradation is sound quality

JMHO, the dielectric, insulation covering the wires, needs to settle in again. The signal actually travels in the dielectric and not in the conductor. The conductor wire is the guide for the electromagnetic wave that carrys the signal from the source to the receiving equipment.

Here is a picture of a coaxial cable. Note the wire conductors carry the supply voltage potential. The conductors also carry the current, (electric charge). The actual signal travel in the space between the two conductors. The dielectric, insulation.

Click on Link

Example: Power flow in a coaxial cable

V on left side of picture = applied source voltage.

I in the wire conductor = current

The Green Arrows represent the signal and the direction of the signal flow.

The signal Does Not flow back and forth. The signal energy travels in one direction from the source to the load.

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