Audioquest directional arrows

[bigfish786]

i've had Audioquest FLX SLiP 14/4 a while now. years actually.
today, i thought i'd redo the banana plugs, boredom strikes again.
while i was removing the banana plugs i noticed some really small arrows on the internal cable, something i hadn't noticed before.
i had also seen photos online of the inner cable twisted into pairs, which differed from the way i had done them, so i took them all apart, and joined them as per the pics.
i had a bit of a giggle to myself, as i connected them back up.. the audiophool in me wondering if i was going to hear a wonderful difference.

you live in hope.

 

[Al ears]

Did you?

 

[Gray]

I've got the same cable....you made me double check which way my arrows were going

 

[Gray]

Did you?

 

[Al ears]

I've got the same cable....you made me double check which way my arrows were going

I was always worried it would be like a one-way system and getting it wrong would end in chaos.....

 

[bigfish786]

probably psysco-acoustics at play, but yeah... i think the notes now know the way out of the amp.

 

[Tinman1952]

probably psysco-acoustics at play, but yeah... i think the notes now know the way out of the amp.

Those little electrons don’t like being rubbed up the wrong way! 😂

 

[bigfish786]

Poor little things 😂 they must be a little happier now, as I am definitely getting a wider soundstage 👍

 

[nopiano]

So all this time it was sucking when it should have been blowing!!

 

[bigfish786]

So all this time it was sucking when it should have been blowing!!

Maybe one side was sucking, and the other blowing?. I really don’t know, as I didn’t really notice the tiny arrows till I’d removed both cables and was taking the banana plugs off!

Free upgrade though, so I’m happy with that 😂

 

[Florestander]

who knew - sounds prefer to flow only in one direction!

 

[bigfish786]

who knew - sounds prefer to flow only in one direction!

Not only prefers, but can tell the difference too!

As I said much earlier, probably psycho-acoustics at work here. But that doesn’t change the fact that it sounds great 🤘

 

[Florestander]

Artificial Intelligence and dark forces at work here! Maybe we should be worried........Ooer!

 

[Tinman1952]

Not only prefers, but can tell the difference too!

As I said much earlier, probably psycho-acoustics at work here. But that doesn’t change the fact that it sounds great 🤘

Could it also be to do with grounding of the shielding in the cable? I know some designs only connect to ground at one end……🤔

 

[nopiano]

Could it also be to do with grounding of the shielding in the cable? I know some designs only connect to ground at one end……🤔

Not with speaker cable…

 

[Tinman1952]

Not with speaker cable…

Oops sorry I thought we were talking interconnects…….🤭

 

[Gray]

...probably psycho-acoustics at work here.

For sure

 

[Vincent Kars]

Audioquest explains why a cable is directional

News Article

AudioQuest cables and other audio products combine solid conductors, high-purity metals, specialized geometries, and stable dielectrics to enable naturally beautiful sounds and images.

www.audioquest.com

"A conductor’s asymmetrical surface structure causes a directional difference in impedance at noise frequencies and very high interference frequencies. Due to skin-effect, such high-frequency energy travels almost exclusively on the surface of a conductor, giving significance to the directional difference in impedance at these frequencies. Because all energy will always take the path of least resistance, when a cable is oriented so that the high-frequency noise—whether from a computer, radio station, cell tower, etc.—is “directed” to ground, or to the end of the cable attached to less vulnerable equipment, the dynamic intermodulation and associated ringing generated in the active electronics will be greatly reduced."

"As always, the proof is in the listening."

Don't think I will buy a product from a company like this.

 

[Gray]

I once read the theory of directionality as being about the direction of pull during the wire manufacturing process - and how the internal structure aligns.
Totally meaningless of course, because nobody could identify the direction of a cable by ear.

Excluding oxygen (and preventing oxidation) certainly brings genuine purity benefit to the copper though - OFC noticeably conducts heat better during soldering - and that gives me confidence that it gives optimum electrical conduction / reduced resistance.
Whether you can actually hear that benefit......