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Directionality of wire

I am a fan of Chris Sommovigo's Black Cat and Airwave interconnects. I hope he does not mind me quoting him or naming him on this subject, but Chris does not mark directionality of his IC's. I recently wrote him on the subject and he responded that absent shunting off to ground/dialectric designs, the idea of wire directionality is a complete myth. Same with resistors and fuses. My hunch is that 95% of IC "manufacturers", particularly the one man operations of under $500 IC's mark directionality because they think it lends the appearance of technical sophistication and legitimacy. But even among the "big boys", the myth gets thrown around like so much accepted common knowledge. Thoughts? Someone care to educate me on how a simple IC or PC or speaker cable or fuse without a special shunting scheme can possibly have directionality? It was this comment by Stephen Mejias (then of Audioquest and in the context of Herb Reichert's review of the AQ Niagra 1000) that prompts my question;

Thank you for the excellent question. AudioQuest provided an NRG-10 AC cable for the evaluation. Like all AudioQuest cables, our AC cables use solid conductors that are carefully controlled for low-noise directionality. We see this as a benefit for all applications -- one that becomes especially important when discussing our Niagara units. Because our AC cables use conductors that have been properly controlled for low-noise directionality, they complement the Niagara System’s patented Ground-Noise Dissipation Technology. Other AC cables would work, but may or may not allow the Niagara to reach its full potential. If you'd like more information on our use of directionality to minimize the harmful effects of high-frequency noise, please visit http://www.audioquest.com/directionality-its-all-about-noise/ or the Niagara 1000's owner's manual (available on our website).

Thanks again.

Stephen Mejias
AudioQuest


Read more at https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-15-audioquest-niagara-1000-hifiman-he1000-v2-p...


fsonicsmith
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
The Audioholics article is apparently 13 years old yet contains the same misstatements of the facts and the usual appeals to "reason" and double blind testing as today’s uber skeptics. 13 years old but still fresh as a daisy! My favorite Audioholics response? This gem: "Let’s not forget that an audio signal is AC, and effectively random from a physical perspective. Nothing can align to a random signal by being anything other than random."

Cut me some slack, Jack!

kosst_amojan
2,095 posts
 
I'm pretty sure the DSM has a diagnostic name for those who hear things that have no basis in reality. It's called schizophrenia. 
But say there was some magic wire that acted like a diode in some way. Why would that be a good thing? The concept sounds stupid on it's face on principle alone. 
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
If you’re trying to appear slow witted you’re doing an excellent job.
randy-11
1,913 posts
 
good post, kosst
jea48
2,944 posts
 
kosst_amojan
139 posts                                                                 08-22-2017 12:48pm


I’m pretty sure the DSM has a diagnostic name for those who hear things that have no basis in reality. It’s called schizophrenia.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
schiz·o·phre·ni·aˌskitsəˈfrēnēə,ˌskitsəˈfrenēə/nounnoun: schizophrenia
  1. a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation.
    • (in general use) a mentality or approach characterized by inconsistent or contradictory elements.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
But say there was some magic wire that acted like a diode in some way.
Who said it acted like a diode?

Why would that be a good thing? The concept sounds stupid on it’s face on principle alone.
Only an IDIOT would think someone who designs and builds ICs and speaker cables would deliberately somehow make a cable directional and use the reasoning behind it as some kind of sales gimmick. A STUPID IDIOT!
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