why do people feel the need to buy expensive cable

Photons don’t like traveling against the grain. The drawing of wire distorts the metals crystals near the surface, where most of the signal travels. Haven’t you ever seen the surface of copper wire under a microscope? If you shine a flashlight down a porcupine’s back the light will be less distorted when shined in the direction of the quills. See? That wasn’t so hard. Mystery solved! Whew! 😛

gdhal

What I stated is untrue is Geoff's statement that all manufactured wire is directional.

Note the operative word *all*.

If you still believe my statement is untrue, perhaps you and I can prove it together offline.

Why prove it offline? Why not submit your "proof" to the scrutiny of the group?

elizabeth - .... there could be a difference and a possible measurement no one has found yet? I personally am not saying there is. But no one can say with absolute certainty(with the current state of the art) that there is NOT....

I’m saying with absolute certainty you or anyone else cannot reliably hear an audible difference when ordinary speaker wire is reversed. You seem honest. Try a blind test for yourself where a friend of yours reverses the cable without your knowledge. Be honest about it and report back whether or not you can hear a difference.

EDIT: and in this context a blind test is simply a situation where you cannot see or have prior knowledge as to what is or is not actually occurring. Simple really. No need for a lot of nonsense regarding the duration of time between sound 1 and sound 2. You know, do the Amy and Bob test. Throw on Amy Winehouse. Then throw on Bob Dylan. *You* should be able to hear the difference 100 percent of the time and under any circumstance. *I* can. Seems to me (and many other naysayers) the proponents of expensive cables or reversing cables should be subject to the same standard.

cleeds -Why prove it offline? Why not submit your "proof" to the scrutiny of the group?

Because (a) I’m not the one stating there is a difference and (b) proving that there is or isn’t apparently cannot be done with written words to the satisfaction of the forum. You know the saying, "ain’t nothing better than the real thing".

gdhal

... proving that there is or isn't apparently cannot be done with written words to the satisfaction of the forum ...

What does that mean? Users here are free to discuss the results of listening tests, including blind tests. So it isn't clear why you'd want such discussions held offline, unless you're promoting your phony $25,000 challenge again. Is that what you're up to, gdhal?

^ Only thing phony comes from those who state they can do the impossible. Audibly detecting with the naked ear a difference when ordinary speaker wire is reversed falls in to the category of impossible.