[cyclingasronomer]

i just bought analysis plus oval nine speaker wire and copper oval in interconnect. the directions on the interconnect said to point the arrows toward the preamp, because it's all supposed to be grounded there. however, the cable sounded like it was really working to get the sound out,with no high frequencies, although stronger bass. so i hooked it the usual way, towards the amps and speakers and got nice high frequency extension and a nice free presentation. not wanting to break anyone's rules, i checked with the company and they told me use it the way it sounds best to me. ok, but this makes me wonder what the arrows mean, then. anyone know the theory of directionality in cables?

 

[aeberbach]

Quote:

theory of directionality in cables?

Marketing.

Do use it whatever way it sounds best to you. Allowing that there is a difference (which some may dispute) I think it is wrong to say that there is one direction that is better than another. Each system is a combination of all of its parts, and sometimes "backwards" is better.

 

[Jeff]

I too think alot of it is marketing, though there are some cables that are grounded at one end of them, but even then it might not make much of a difference. I say just trust your ears/mind

 

[JML]

The directionality is usually based on the shielding arrangement. Run a search on the concept - I asked the same thing in the winter.

 

[cyclingasronomer]

thanks for the advice. no one wants to be wrong alone!

 

[DarkAngel]

It all depends.

Some cables are truely symetrical in design and the arrows are just a way for you to remember which direction the cable was broken in so when you change or replace you get the correct orientation. If you install these reverse from before eventually they would break in again over time to new direction.

Other cables are non-symetrical in design and do have one direction which is better. The obvious ones are network cables like MIT, but as mentioned above other cables have special grounding schemes which work best when oriented as recommend by maufacturer. If you are not sure it is easy to e-mail
or contact dealer.

 

[Hirsch]

Be careful hooking interconnects up in the wrong direction. If you do this, you're likely to send the music signal the wrong way. It could get back out through the power cable and into your house wiring, and you'd hear music at odd times, such as when you opened the refrigerator.

On a more serious note, I made up a set of interconnects with a shield that connected at the source end. When applied a multimeter to the center pins of the plugs to test for continuity, I noticed no resistance when the cathode and anode were connected in one direction, but about 1 ohm of resistance simply by switching the leads of the multimeter. This replicated in the other interconnect. If there is a measurable difference in the properties of the cable depending on the polarity of the signal, and in fact I was able to measure one, I'd take claims of directionality a bit more seriously than some do.

My suspicion is that the shielding set up caused the directional change in resistance. However, I didn't think of testing for continuity before I did my soldering, so I don't know for sure, and I'm not going to disassemble the cable to find out.

 

[cyclingasronomer]

or maybe the music would play backwards. or maybe we'd have to turn the stereo off at the beginning and on at the end! all sorts of horrible possibilities when one tampers with manufacturers' directions! we can't have anarchy in our music! except john cage or darius milhaud.

 

[phidauex]

John Cage is most certainly musical anarchy. Most 20th century classical seems to be a sort of contest to see who can break the most rules. Either that or the songs are written as musical 'jokes' to other musicians. Weird stuff.

As far as cable directionality.. When there is a shield connected at only one side, i can see the need for directionality, though each person's equipment setup would probably dictate a different direction.

As far as cables burning in directionally, and then having to 're-burn in' if reversed.. I'm not sure if i buy that. the signal is inherently AC, so there is no signal directionality. To 'reverse' the cable orientation, you would only have to hit a phase invert switch.

but then again, maybe i'm not a golden ear

peace,
phidauex

 

[punosion]

Quote:

Originally posted by cyclingasronomer or maybe the music would play backwards. or maybe we'd have to turn the stereo off at the beginning and on at the end! all sorts of horrible possibilities when one tampers with manufacturers' directions! we can't have anarchy in our music! except john cage or darius milhaud.

Which reminds me...yesterday, my girlfriend and I went to see "Monty Python & the Holy Grail" at the theaters last night. (It's back in theaters! Why not?) At the end of the movie after they get arrested, and the music plays, everyone just sat there. The theater also appeared staffed by people who didn't really care about what went on in the theater, so they just neglected to turn the lights on after the show was over.

So, we all got Pythonized

Everyone just sat there...silent...I was almost sure it was over, but since I hadn't seen it I wasn't exactly sure if it was the end or not. Wanting to take a cue from the theater lights, and not being the ******* who stands up when the flick isn't over, I just sat there with everyone else. Then, everyone just dissipated...quite funny...

 

[cyclingasronomer]

wow! a happening! how appropriate! god was enjoying himself!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by phidauex As far as cables burning in directionally, and then having to 're-burn in' if reversed.. I'm not sure if i buy that. the signal is inherently AC, so there is no signal directionality.

Um, no, the flow of electrons (I.E. current) is inheritly directional. Quote:

To 'reverse' the cable orientation, you would only have to hit a phase invert switch.

Ah, you're thinking voltage differential...

 

[kwkarth]

I think some are deluded here...
Happy Listening! (in either direction) If electron flow were uni-directional, you would have a diode and you would not like the "sound."

 

[eric343]

Ask Tyll. I talked to him about this very issue last summer, and apparently it has to do with the helical phase winding or something

Hey, it was like nine months ago and I was busy hooking up the HeadRoom Display Rig, OK?

 

[kwkarth]

Cable geometry is different from electron flow in audio signals. It is wort while to pay attention to cable direction due to cable geometry for best signal to noise ratio. Telescoping ground can make a difference in the presence of strong RFI fields.