Directional speaker cables - switching direction


Some time ago I started a thread regarding speaker wire directionality and my inability to understand how it could have any affect on sound quality. The question was inspired by the fact that, after quite a few years using them with my Martin Logan Odysseys, I discovered that the cables (Straightwire Octave 2) had arrows printed on them. Not surprisingly the opinions expressed were pretty strong on both sides of the argument but those supporting directionality were the most vociferous and in greater numbers, one to the point of being downright insulting. In no case, though, was an explanation given by those supporting the importance of cable direction for how this phenomenon occurs except that it should be obvious that when a cable is broken in in one direction only someone with an uneducated ear would be unable to discern the difference.

Even though I still don't get it I'm not taking the position that there is no validity to the directional claim; if there truly is I just don't understand how. This leads me to my two part question. I haven't been using the Octaves for a few years but now, because of cable length issues, I want to put them back in my system partly to avoid the cost of new quality cables.

IF, then, the directionality theory IS valid and I don't recall which way the arrows originally pointed or which direction they were "broken in" do those in support of directionality think I should install them with the arrows pointing toward the speakers
128x128broadstone
While I'm a big believer in cabling, I'm a bigger believer in cable settling, which can take a long time regardless of the directionality of the wire.

If you haven't used the wire for a couple of years, you will be essentially settling a new cable and should be able to hook it up in any direction and still need a few hundred hours of constant signal being passed through it to fully stabilize the cable.

If you find this a little too much to swallow then I sure as heck wouldn't worry about directionality as it's far less significant than cable settling.
Timrhu wrote,

"I truly envy those who have enough time in their lives to sit and critically listen to their cables and then swap the direction and do it again. And to ensure they heard what they think they heard, do it all again over and over."

What's it take, about 60 seconds? Now, compare that to 30 years of slaving on the system trying to get it sound good.
When I started this thread I inadvertently pressed the "submit now" button before I completed my thought so I'll try to finish it now with the added benefit of these comments. Although I'm skeptical of the theory of directionality in a conductor, even for DC current, I'll discuss it as if I accept the idea. By no stretch do I mean to be critical of those who argue the validity of cable directionality but I think sometimes we go so far into the quest that we start to invent things that we feel are standing in the way of perfection. Because the Straightwire cables were removed from my system before I noticed the arrows, I have no idea if they had been installed properly. Whether or not they had been, though, if there is validity to the directionality theory there is also the question of break-in direction and how permanent that would be in the event that I would try to reuse them. BTW, I like the idea of avoiding Zombies and appreciate the warning.

Because I'm not secure in my conclusion that the direction issue is an imaginary one, I'm going to reinstall a pair of Silver Sonic cables that I had used in another setup in the past. These have no arrows imprinted on them and I know which direction the break-in occurred because there are spades on one end and bananas on the other and have thousands of hours on them. If the "settling in" process will be starting over, that's OK; these new speakers will take awhile also.

All of this is coming up because I just changed speakers from the Martin Logan Odysseys to ML Ethos. My system otherwise is Shanling CD 100 and Peachtree Audio Nova as preamp and Peachtree 220 amp.
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Jea, it can't be proven as far as I know and I'm interested to know how you could possibly have construed anything I've said to have been in support of the directionality or cable burn-in concepts. Please go back and read the discussion; I think it's pretty obvious that I clearly question the validity of cable direction and its influence on sound quality.