Directionality of wire

don_c55711 posts07-30-2017 5:20amSingle ended interconnects are directional because they are grounded at the source end only, for lowest hum pickup and resulting low noise.

+1 for Don, there’s a "technical" reason behind it, others are just making out something from nothing.

Unless you have some of the 30 year old Audio Technica, Hitachi, Linear Crystal cable, (LC-OFC) of years gone by, which was "truly" crystallised lc-ofc copper "very fragile", trouble was if it was bent more than 30 degrees it cracked the crystal structure and sounded worse, because there was a diode effect at the crack points.
http://www.hifido.co.jp/photo/10/586/58660/b.jpg

With today’s quality RCA interconnects, it’s because most of them use 2 core inner cables "with an earth shield only connected at one end."
This end should be leading to the poweramp end of signal direction, dumping any RF caught by the shield at the least sensitive end of the component lineup.

Cheers George

This just in! Are Anti Cables an example of a one man operation? Maybe. In any case this is the Anti Cable statement on wire direction. Let’s call it Exhibit B. This is taken from the FAQ page of the Anti Cables website. Since the Anti Cables are marked for the correct directionality one can assume Anti Cables, just like Audioquest, controls the manufacturing process, no?

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Wire Directionality?
As an electronic engineer I struggled with this topic for quite a while because it did not fit into any of the electrical models I have learned. It simply does not make sense that an alternating music signal should favor a direction in a wire. One of the great things about the audio hobby is that we seem to be able to hear things well before we can explain them; and just because we can’t explain something, does not mean it does not exist.

While wire directionality is not fully understood, it is clear that the molecular structure of drawn metal wire is not symmetrical and it is this physical difference which is consistent with which direction the wire sounds better. When the directionality is “backwards” there is a loss of resolution, cymbals sound like a spray-can and are truncated, voices are grainy and lack presences, and bass is less defined. When the wire directionality is “correct” the music is more relaxed, pleasant and believable. Once you hear the difference, you will never want to have to listen to wire backwards ever again.

All ANTICABLES products have the correct directionality marked with an arrow.

Exhibit C, the Chord Company,

Direction
Almost all speaker cables, in fact almost all audio cables, be they for digital or analogue are, in our experience, directional in that the sound will be better with the cable connected in a specific direction. Chord speaker cables should be connected so that the print on the cable reads in the direction of the signal. In effect, the C of Chord should be nearest the amplifier. The fact the cables are directional is a subject of much debate but our experience is that these differences range from slight to quite marked. One of the main areas that can be affected by the direction of the cable is timing and coherence. With the cable connected in the correct direction the sound will be more articulate and involving.

Cheers, Geoff Kait

from the Chord excerpt...

"Chord speaker cables should be connected so that the print on the cable reads in the direction of the signal. In effect, the C of Chord should be nearest the amplifier."

If print should read in the direction of signal [flow?], wouldn’t the C of Chord have to be nearest the source?

...as in Source>>>CHORD>>>Amp??

I do struggle with occasional moments of dyslexia.

ghosthouse
from the Chord excerpt...

"Chord speaker cables should be connected so that the print on the cable reads in the direction of the signal. In effect, the C of Chord should be nearest the amplifier."

If print should read in the direction of signal [flow?], wouldn’t the C of Chord have to be nearest the source?

...as in Source>>>CHORD>>>Amp??

I do struggle with occasional moments of dyslexia.


Uh, is this supposed to be a trick question? 😕