Directional Audio Cables - myth or reality?

MikeEnRegalia wrote: ^ this theory (digital connections influence the sound) would deserve a thread of its own.

Edited by Sean Trane - June 05 2007 at 05:53

darqdean wrote: ^ I (we) were only talking Analogue cables. Digital is a whole different ball-game and you are moving from Audio into RF (which is why your digital cable is a co-ax cable like your TV) - in these cases optical is better.

In theory yes. But actually optic fiber doesn't works.
(musically speaking).

Edited by oliverstoned - June 04 2007 at 14:29

darqdean wrote: ^ I (we) were only talking Analogue cables.

darqdean wrote:   There is no DC component in the speaker cable - it there was it would seriously damage your speakers. The Power Amplifier amplifies the music signal (I will refrain from calling it AC from now on) to such a level that it can drive the speaker coil.  >> Yup, I explained my mistake (re the computer speakers) in the other post, even if the info is not travelling the same cable as the power.     Signal flow is not the same as current flow (I've said this before), If you hold a length of rope by one end and give it a flick, a single "wave" would travel along the rope, but nothing else would. In an electrical conductor electrons do not flow along the cable carring bits of music signal - they propagate the "information" from one electron to the next like the fibres in the rope did. Imagine a Newton's Cradle - swing the ball at one end and the ball at the opposite end bounces. (it's actually nothing like that - but this is as simple an analogy I could think of).>>> I think we (I?) are mixing the subjects between digital cables and analog cables here. My NAD is running with analogue, but my Yamaha is using digital cables and my CD-burner even uses an optic link from my CD player. Clearly the two concepts are quite different with analogue cabling(directional or not).     The music signal really does Alternate between positive and negative, the Current flows in alternating directions in the conductor. A unidirectional conductor would stop half this signal from getting through. That is called a diode.   Matched speaker cable lengths are a partial Myth.     There are impedance differences between unmatched cables that would be noticeable on inferior amplifiers - however you would not detect this on any mid to high-end amplifier.  >> Did not specify, but the impedance was the problem I was hinting at here. But I remember in the 80's my brother cutting a cable on 50 cm and one of 3m, (for sake of saving £$£€) and one speaker sounded much higher than the other due to the impedance (at least was my guess >> Max Pow Transfer). Once both cables were equal thios was solved.

MikeEnRegalia wrote: ^ why should there be an DC current required to "power up" the speakers? Essentially a speaker is an electrical magnet ... depending on the voltage of the signal the magnet attracts or repells the membrane (or rather the piece of metal attached to the membrane. If a speaker really needed DC current I'm sure it would simply get its own power supply. And I'm also sure that the signals between the hi-fi components are AC too. You can't transport information on a DC connection ... unless you would do some kind of current modulation, which I have never heard of.

Edited by Sean Trane - June 04 2007 at 12:00

^ why should there be an DC current required to "power up" the speakers? Essentially a speaker is an electrical magnet ... depending on the voltage of the signal the magnet attracts or repells the membrane (or rather the piece of metal attached to the membrane). If a speaker really needed DC current I'm sure it would simply get its own power supply.

And I'm also sure that the signals between the hi-fi components are AC too. You can't transport information on a DC connection ... unless you would do some kind of current modulation, which I have never heard of.


Edited by MikeEnRegalia - June 04 2007 at 11:35

mystic fred wrote: as far as i've been told all cables are directional - interconnects, speakers, guitar lead, i thought i should follow the manufacturers instructions to get best results, but i am tempted one day to reverse them all and see hear what happens

You'll hear that it's less good.

^ of course this type of cable is not what I mean ... directional cables in the world of audiophiles are usually cables which are supposed to be optimized for a particular direction on the material level - meaning that the same "wire" sounds differently depending on which direction you use.

Sean Trane wrote:   Just to be certain , Mike!!  you are aware that Unidirectional wires (this means they have an arrow pointing the way it should be cabled)  are not speaker cables, but used between the Hifi elements, (but not the speakers). I could be wrong on this issue, but I have yet to hear of speaker cables that are unidirectional (unless you're speaking of connecting the red connector of amplifier  to the red connector of speakers and the black to the black, which should ALWAYS be done anyway)

Sean Trane wrote: Just to be certain , Mike!!  you are aware that Unidirectional wires (this means they have an arrow pointing the way it should be cabled)  are not speaker cables, but used between the Hifi elements, (but not the speakers). I could be wrong on this issue, but I have yet to hear of speaker cables that are unidirectional (unless you're speaking of connecting the red connector of amplifier  to the red connector of speakers and the black to the black, which should ALWAYS be done anyway) It doesn't matter much whether you connect a CD player to an amp or an amp to speakers ... I edited the thread title a little bit, I'm really referring to audio cables in general, with speaker cables being just one example. And as for ..... trying to reverse the direction on unidirectional cables , I don't care to try, either. I just have more important issues in life..... even if I have nothing to do for the next four hours. I have no doubt it would work worse if reversed, because they are manufactured to work in one direction.   So I say reality and no myth. Whether this unidirection makes a real audible difference to another high-qual wire, I am much less positive, though. But how can this be possible? AFAIK there is no basis for a rational explanation of how these unidirectional cables work, or why the direction should have any effect. The audio signal - balanced or unbalanced - is alternating current ...