I need help on directionality of speaker cables


I just picked up a pair of Harmonic Tech Pro 9 speaker cables which have an arrow on the label. Should the arrow point towards the amp or the speakers?
128x128pdreher
Ryder, I think you just hit the nail on the head with one of the ongoing flaws with forums like these.

Despite the fact that electronics and physics theory have been studied, researched and set in stone for longer than most of us have been alive (and are what the design and building of all cd players, DAC's, amps etc are based on), too many audiophiles are very quick to flipantly disregard these laws because either:

1. They believe they can hear (very subjective) some difference in sound, or
2. A manufacturer of some new product who stands to profit (and let's face it, it's usually a cable of some type) makes dubious claims based on their own "research" to sell said product, and we believe them.

I totally agree we need to trust our own ears as to the sound we like (subjective again), but that can never be a reason to disregard proven electronic and physics theory, especially when some of these cables are sooo expensive.

Allowing a cable company to tell you that it's AC-carrying speaker cables are directional, or that a DC-carrying digital connection utilizes the skin effect for improved transmission is marketing baloney.

I promise to make no more posts on this thread!
Carl109, "...studied, researched and set in stone," maybe in EE to give the engineering capability to design circuits, but in reality there are many more factors than totally explain why wire has directional attributes. If most people hear a difference between speakerwires used in one direction rather than another, what is it that explains this, especially if there is an overwhelming preference for one way rather than the other?

Omega Mikro goes to great extremes to be certain that the wire draw direction is maintained. On their power cords, the Red is with the wire draw from the wall to the IEC on the hot side and from the IEC to the wall on the neutral side. Their Blue cords are the reverse. What a small number of components show no difference whether a Red or Blue are used, many show great differences. This is with simple 60 Hz ac. Kondo is very concerned with the wire draw direction on his wire.

Such designs are not "disregarding" what electrical engineer suggests, but rather going to other concerns. There are many things that manufacturers use to help sell their products and certainly some "improvements" are baloney but some that go above and beyond simple rules of electronics have great benefit.
...but some that go above and beyond simple rules of electronics have great benefit
Tbg: for Goodness sake, you cannot go ABOVE the RULES of electronics -- nor are said rules necessarily simple.
You may go beyond the SIMPLE rules -- but that's neither here nor there.

Cheers
As I said, you are talking about electrical engineering not physics. They are simple rules that allow circuit and wire designs, but they do not capture all that holds in physics.
I've just asked one of my colleagues in the same firm who is an EE and without any hesitation said that it's DC in digital.

He needs to go back to school. Digital data is usually sent with an encoding such as Biphase Mark Code. This essentially amounts to a high frequency alternating waveform that travels down a wire (in which the clock frequency is embedded or can be recovered upon decoding). DC is used in all digital and electronic power supplies but not for transmission on a cable or through the air.