Curious How These Nordost Speaker Cables Do What They Do

@freediver If you want to know why, see https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/it-s-simple 

Your initial comments are entirely consistent with what one would expect from Acoustic Zen Epoch to a Nordost. The AZE have a poor PVC dielectric relative to the Nordost FEP. The AZE inductance is probably higher. The Proximity Effect will be radically different between the two geometries.

What I can’t wrap my head around, especially as an electrician, is how it’s possible for an electrical signal conductor to effectively change the regeneration of the signal between the amp and the speakers...

The signal is not 'between' the amp and speakers. The whole kit and caboodle is a system. The LRC of your amp, cable and speakers interact dynamically.

Do not be in a rush to choose.

@jmcgrogan2 +1, twice

@soix  Agreed an initial patina can wear off rapidly. Price has little to do with performance. Some components are very sensitive to cables and others are not. An inexpensive cable may function better for any given component depending on said component parameters.

Freediver, I see these cables come coiled in the box, but are you (and anyone else on here who has them) using them partly coiled or have you completely straightened out the cable prior to use?

Any coiled section in the cable could potentially act as a capacitor and additional capacitance will likely change the tone (eq) of your system - regardless of what your cables are made from.

Sadly, for this debate, the only cable rule I buy into is the longer your run, the stouter your cable should be. If your Nordost Red Dawn Rev.II cables are much stouter than what went before and your runs are long - i.e. at least 5 meters, then this may be a factor. Have you tried good regular stout copper cable as a test?

The Nordost design is fundamentally flawed.  Music is not portrayed naturally, the fundamentals are skewed higher on the scale and the overtones are not harmonious.  Just plain wrong sounding.  IMHO

Well, Nordost is certainly all wet on their explanation of cable directionality. Maybe Nordost should pay closer attention to how Audioquest controls wire directionality.

“Are Nordost cables directional?
Yes, Nordost cables are directional. This is especially true for single ended (RCA) interconnects as the shield is connected at the source or output end only.”

>>>>But what about their unshielded cables? Why do they have arrows?

“Which way do directional arrows point on Nordost cables?
The directional arrows always point away from the source. For example, from a CD player to an amplifier, the arrows should point towards the preamplifier or power amplifier. On a speaker cable the arrows would always point towards the loudspeaker.”

>>>>>>If cables have no directionality when they are manufactured then why have arrows, unless all Nordost cables are shielded, including speaker cables? (Apparently, from what I can tell Nordost speaker cables are unshielded.)

“How can cables be directional?
When cables are manufactured they do not have any directionality. However, as they break in, they acquire directionality. Although the cable signal is an alternating current, small impurities in the conductor act as diodes allowing signal flow to be better in one direction over time. This effect is also called quantum tunneling, w hich has been observed in experiments over 25 years ago. Regardless of the purity of the metal used, there are still diode effects in all conductors. In addition, the insulation material will change when it is subjected to an electrical field.”

Editor comment: Yikes!