2. cables
  3. 1443194965

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?

I'm curious whether there is a different view on this that I have not considered yet.
cbozdog
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"The signal in the room is the acoustic wave, not the air, no?"

Don't you need both? You can't have an acoustic wave with out air. Or am I just missing something?

Also, with regards to the signal alternating back and forth, doesn't that get taken care of when the signal is rectified?
cbozdog OP
63 posts
 
Umm... no, I'd be surprised to find that we purposefully rectify audio signals. That would, as you indicate, keep electrons moving in one direction only, while folding one phase over the other with a couple of diodes (or cutting out one phase altogether with a single one?). Probably not happening that way, unless it is a mild, unintended effect of the interconnect (directional?).

Thank you for correcting Geoff's view.
yping
351 posts
 
This is Interesting ... Finding the direction of a wire by ear
yping
351 posts
 
Actually, AC & DC electrical charge/flow is directional (from sender/source) but with AC the electrons move back and forth (which is AC electrical current) :)
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
I never said you don't need both. What do you think that proves? You need electrons, too, but they can't be the signal, they don't travel fast enough. They are virtually moving whereas the signal is traveling at near light speed. Air molecules in the room are at rest, the acoustic wave is traveling through them at the speed of sound. So air can't be the signal any more than electrons. They are the medium not the message.
More to discover