Interconnect Directionality


Have I lost my mind? I swear that I am hearing differences in the direction I hook up my interconnect cables between my preamp and power amp. These are custom built solid core silver cables with Eichmann bullet plugs. There is no shield so this is not a case where one end of the cable’s shield is grounded and the other isn’t. 

There are four ways ways to hook them up:
Right: Forward. Left: Forward. 
Right: Backward. Left: Backward
Right: Forward. Left: Backward
Right: Backward. Left: Forward. 

There is no difference in construction between forward and backward, but here are my observations:

When they are hooked up forward/backward there appears to be more airy-ness and what appears to be a slight phase difference. When hooked up forward/forward or backward/backward, the image seems more precise like they are more in phase. The difference between forward/forward and backward/backward is that one seems to push the soundstage back a little bit while the other brings it towards you more. 

What could possibly cause this? Does it have something to do with the way the wire is constructed and how the grains are made while drawn through a die? Am I imagining this? Have I completely lost my mind?
mkgus
roberttcan"I will continue to ignore your mindless rambling"

roberttcan you are the sole, singular, solitary expert on "mindless" you have been hear just a few days and 3/4 of all of you're posts have been deleted because of they're vile, insulting, racist content what is you're problem. If you continue I shall alert the moderators to you're abuse of this forum and it's many educated, thoughtful, expert users!
Post removed 
roberttcan" Stop. p.s. I dare you, no I double dare you to show anywhere I have been racist.'

Wow a "double-dare" that kind of juvenile, childish, immature threat may work for you on the playground but not hear where at least some of the contributors are actual adults
geoff,

I saw in one of your other posts that you follow the LIGO. Now you have to admit, that is a pretty impressive feat of measurement, right?

So what you are telling me, is that we can measure gravity waves, which I think you said requires sub-atomic accuracy, BUT we cannot measure the electrical signals in cables to a level of precision beyond human hearing such that this topic could be easily put to bed?

Now keep in mind, we are not talking about the complex acoustic and psychoacoustic effects that happen with respect to how we perceive sound, we are simply talking about an electrical signal going from one end of a cable to another. That it ends up as sound is moot, other than the limits of hearing, of which I am willing to generously give you as 100KHz, and 140db, even though there is no tested evidence to suggest that level of information content is required to test the limits of hearing.

We know that even fairly high levels of THD are hard to detect, even when weighted to harmonics we do not like.

I am not a skeptic geoff, I am a professional in the industry (though right now more into other things outside audio). You just assume I have never done these tests. I have, and more. I spent a few years doing just this sort of work for a range of clients. Now we are not talking amplifiers here. I am not under any illusion that all the typical measurements done fully characterize an amplifier. It is one of the reasons why I designed a specific piece of test equipment for a customer. We are talking cables, and even more than that, the directionality of analog cables, independent of shields as for the most part, electronics negates any digital transmission issues (note I did not say EMI noise coupling).

IF the direction of a cable, independent of a shield is as plain as the nose on my face, then surely it is dead easy to replicate this, blind tested? I don’t think that is an unreasonable hurdle to acceptance of your claim?





geoffkait17,693 posts10-24-2019 8:28amroberttcan
THE ACTUAL PROFESSIONALS .... you know, the ones that make 100GHz cables, that ones that put gigabits through twisted pairs, the ones that developed the HDMI standard, the people who make measurements systems, all the ones where real bits, real SNR, real waveform shape = money, the ones whose customers have sophisticated test and measurement equipment, etc. etc. would never ever claim, except where a directional shield is concerned, or there is an intentional passive element built a cable, that, within the framework of audio, that directionality of an interconnect has any detectable difference in the sound.

>>>>That’s what makes the whole directionality thing so interesting - that it IS audible. It’s as plain as the nose on your face. All wire is directional. Simple tests can be performed by any REAL skeptic, someone who was interested in getting to the bottom of things rather than a pseudo skeptic who prefers debating endlessly. 🔛 All you need is an open mind, and a little curiosity, you know, parts of the scientific method sometimes conveniently forgotten. Follow the arrows. 🔚