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Directional interconnect cables

I see several big-name interconnect vendors mark directional arrows on the outer jacket of the cables.

How is it that a wire can be directional? It's a simple electrical conductor, how is it possible for it to be directional, to sound "better" when connected in one direction vs. the other? This does not make sense to me, perhaps someone here can explain how this can possibly be so...
lupinthe3rd
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
I should say, the common ground comments are only relevent to unbalanced interconnects. It's not an issue with balanced and you may connect most either way.

Going "with the flow" when your ICs are meant to have a common ground would generally be a mistake. Whether it costs you SQ or not will depend a lot on the grounding of your system and house in general.

So, to sum up, with balanced ICs it will not matter, but with unbalanced you should do as your manufacturer advises.

Dave
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
>>It's not an issue with balanced and you may connect most either way.<<

Huh????

A balanced cable has a male and female end so it must be connected accordingly.

There is no choice to make.
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
"Either way", it doesn't matter where the ground is, smartee.

Dave
carl109
134 posts
 
Lupinthe3rd, I think the bottom line is to check the instructions that came with the cable or check with the manufacturer. It's quite possible different brands will have the arrows pointing in opposite directions.
sidssp
1,077 posts
 
Nelson Pass, one of the most famous and experienced amp designed has written a short article about ground loop a few years ago(see link below). In which he also discussed cable shielding and how it should be connected. Please take a look and see if that answers your question.

http://www.passdiy.com/pdf/articles/ground-loops.pdf
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