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  3. 130709-12450

Directionality of wire

I am a fan of Chris Sommovigo's Black Cat and Airwave interconnects. I hope he does not mind me quoting him or naming him on this subject, but Chris does not mark directionality of his IC's. I recently wrote him on the subject and he responded that absent shunting off to ground/dialectric designs, the idea of wire directionality is a complete myth. Same with resistors and fuses. My hunch is that 95% of IC "manufacturers", particularly the one man operations of under $500 IC's mark directionality because they think it lends the appearance of technical sophistication and legitimacy. But even among the "big boys", the myth gets thrown around like so much accepted common knowledge. Thoughts? Someone care to educate me on how a simple IC or PC or speaker cable or fuse without a special shunting scheme can possibly have directionality? It was this comment by Stephen Mejias (then of Audioquest and in the context of Herb Reichert's review of the AQ Niagra 1000) that prompts my question;

Thank you for the excellent question. AudioQuest provided an NRG-10 AC cable for the evaluation. Like all AudioQuest cables, our AC cables use solid conductors that are carefully controlled for low-noise directionality. We see this as a benefit for all applications -- one that becomes especially important when discussing our Niagara units. Because our AC cables use conductors that have been properly controlled for low-noise directionality, they complement the Niagara System’s patented Ground-Noise Dissipation Technology. Other AC cables would work, but may or may not allow the Niagara to reach its full potential. If you'd like more information on our use of directionality to minimize the harmful effects of high-frequency noise, please visit http://www.audioquest.com/directionality-its-all-about-noise/ or the Niagara 1000's owner's manual (available on our website).

Thanks again.

Stephen Mejias
AudioQuest


Read more at https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-15-audioquest-niagara-1000-hifiman-he1000-v2-p...


fsonicsmith
mitch2
4,336 posts
 
All of these arguments can be flipped around and applied to either side, sort of like a non-directional fuse 😎
dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Right on mitch2. Kinda like shadorne ridiculing the potential sonic benefits of such products without ever trying them because he is so "cognitively selective". 

And bringing global warning into this totally unrelated topic demonstrates the "appeal to authority" maneuver that Geoff Kait frequently describes.

It would be best for each to report honestly and accurately about our own personal experiences (positive or negative) with audio products and leave the intellectual arguments and psychological voodoo for other endeavors outside audio.

Dave
sebrof's avatar
sebrof
837 posts
 
There are a couple of guys here on A-Gon that, when I see they posted in a thread, even if the topic is of no interest to me I usually click and read. I often learn something. 

There are a couple of guys here on A-Gon that, when I see they posted in a thread, even if the topic is something I may be interested in I pass on by because I know the thread has, or quickly will, become gibberish. 

It's not often I see them all in the same thread, so this thread is kinda weird as it pegs back and forth...Bam, good info...Bam, nonsense...Bam, good info...
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
11,226 posts
 
It's funny how some here adhere to use of science, measurements and math as a basis for their argument and when it comes to climate change, they discard it at the drop of a MAGA hat. 🤔

If anyone here is versed in the field of statistics, can they explain the chances of thousands of listeners who hear a difference and the odds that they're all delusional? Mass hysteria just doesn't cut it. It can't be the water or cool-aid since they're so spread out so something else is afoot. 👞

All the best,
Nonoise
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Ivan
True enough. Caveat emptor. Wouldn’t have it any other way, myself.

Well, actually, ironically enough, that expression caveat emptor does NOT apply to fuses as much as people think, you know, since most aftermarket fuses come with a 30 day guarantee, and at least one aftermarket fuse comes with 60 day guarantee. Hel- loo! Heck, you’d have be stupid not to buy aftermarket fuses. Not to mention the Black fuse is being sold right now as we speak at the ridiculous price of three for the price of two. Hmmm, are they getting ready to release a new fuse?




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