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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
cbozdog OP
63 posts
 

Geoff - hmm. The information flows in one direction (from source to receiver, as Czarivey kindly sketched out for us), with an alternating flow of electrons (back and forth, or forth and back depending on the phase) as carrier. No carrier, no information - unless I'm sadly mistaken about how things work in this universe.

Mapman and Hevac1 - thank you - preferential grounding and the magical network gadget look like legitimate reasons. Short of that - I am inclined to view with suspicion any cable that is overtly directional. I would also expect such cable be also more sensitive to phase inversion (though I did not check experimentally).

Thank you for chipping in - I learned.

C>
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"09-25-15: Hevac1
As far as I know it has to do with shielding to minimize interference from other sources and line voltage noise. The shield is only connected at one end to minimize ground loops from one item to the other also."

Its done to form/polarize the dielectric one way. Thats why they use the arrows. If you go to AQ's website, they do a much better job explaining it than I do.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
Bozdog, but we're not talking about the carrier, we're talking about the signal. The signal travels at near light speed. The elections on the other hand travel about a foot an hour. Hel-loo! The signal in the room is the acoustic wave, not the air, no?
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"The signal in the room is the acoustic wave, not the air, no?"

Don't you need both? You can't have an acoustic wave with out air. Or am I just missing something?

Also, with regards to the signal alternating back and forth, doesn't that get taken care of when the signal is rectified?
cbozdog OP
63 posts
 
Umm... no, I'd be surprised to find that we purposefully rectify audio signals. That would, as you indicate, keep electrons moving in one direction only, while folding one phase over the other with a couple of diodes (or cutting out one phase altogether with a single one?). Probably not happening that way, unless it is a mild, unintended effect of the interconnect (directional?).

Thank you for correcting Geoff's view.
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