Directional cables - what does that really mean?

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.

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! 😬

@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.
 

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. 🤗