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
When you're one step ahead of the crowd you're a genius. When you're two steps ahead, you're a crackpot. --Shlomo Riskin 

I'm with you on all of that Geoff. Problem is, it is 2-3-4-5 steps ahead for the vast majority of people.

And you'll get the crackpot labeling red blanket treatment. (cover a person with a white sheet and kick it until it turns red)

As Mr average Joe blow will demand the full 'functional for them explanation'. And that just can't happen. 

And the onus is on them, not you, but they will make it your problem, even if it is theirs. They have to raise themselves to the qualities of the question and the answer and that aint happening. But their big deep inner butt-hurt, is real enough for them to share with you. With extreme levels of projected violence, sometimes. Nevermind the normal attacks. You know all this, but you keep trying anyway. Bravo. 

“If I could explain it to the average person, It wouldn't have been worth the Nobel Prize.”
Richard Feynman



Like usual GeoffKait forget to be stupid and write very interesting true thing ,it is my opinion for sure...Perception is a time mystery...When a recorded event play in a dvd you cannot synchronize your internal clock easily, but more than that, you cannot also naturally guess the future like usual with these organ that read and create time, our intuition and our imagination...You only guess with your reason and this is a bit short of the task...
What was told to me is that the metal (copper, silver) is drawn in one direction that is accounted for.
Audioquest advertises highly polished surfaces of their solid core conductors for some of their high end cables.. Does that eliminate the problem? 🤔


DRAGON CONDUCTORS: SOLID PERFECT-SURFACE SILVER (PSS)
Perfect-Surface Technology applied to extreme-purity silver provides unprecedented clarity and dynamic contrast. Perfect-Surface Silver (PSS) is AudioQuest's highest-quality metal. Solid conductors prevent strand interaction, a major source of cable distortion. Extremely high-purity Perfect-Surface Silver minimizes distortion caused by the grain boundaries that exist within any metal conductor, nearly eliminating harshness and greatly increasing clarity compared to OFHC, OCC, 8N and other coppers.