Directional cables - what does that really mean?
Had to choose one of many threads on the topic. Dart hit this one... Thanks for the link. Will read later with a glass of wine :-) |
While I don’t really have an explanation, it hardly seems possible to me that minuscule traces of impurities that might be found in 6 nines copper can be responsible for the rather impressive changes to the sound when reversing cables. This was also the point made by HiFi Tuning in their results of a thorough evaluation of audiophile fuses, which appears on the Data Sheets on the HiFi Tuning website. What HiFi Tuning says, in effect, is the relatively small measured differences in voltage drop for the fuses under evaluation, don’t completely explain the relatively large differences experienced in listening tests. [In fact, the measured differences were much smaller than HiFi Tuning states (5%) on the Data Sheets, by almost AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE. Hel-loo!] So, I hereby declare considerable mystery still surrounds the whole directionality thing. Fortunately, all the world loves a mystery, right? 😛 |
And another thing. Roger Skoff’s theory that for continuous cast copper or long grain copper wire that impurities that build up between grains causes wire directionality doesn’t make sense since any effects of impurity build-up would be random in nature, whereas wire directionality is not random. It’s predictable, transferrable and repeatable. If it was random you couldn’t control it. I scoff at his theory. 🤔 If it doesn’t make sense it’s not true. - Judge Judy Addendum - He also left out the most important part of the whole directionality theory - how the audio or electrical signal is affected/changed by reversing the direction of the wire or cable. I.e., why is the sound better one way that the other? If the sound is more distorted in one direction, why? |
Did you read the article, or just skim it? He said that impurities can be a reason for the difference in sound in wire directionality. The impurities can act like diodes, allowing the signal an easier path one way over the other. They can also act like tiny magnets. He also says that when the metal is drawn and compresses the metal to the desired gauge, it aligns the crystal structure in a certain direction, favoring one way over the other. So, he did address it. All the best, Nonoise |
All of that makes no sense. The percentage of impurities is too small. If the copper is 6 nines pure, then the total impurities is only 0.000001. Tiny magnets, indeed. Give me a break! Plus even if the impurities did act like tiny diodes there’s nothing to support the idea they would all be pointed in the same direction. There would be more than just one. |
