Cable flow direction

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carter

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Aug 27, 2008
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ifor said:
carter said:
could be the case on your posh hi end cables but on my budget ones most of the punctuation is lost ;-).....anyway why wouldn't "my" be reversed

Sorry, I hadn't noticed that iOS had "corrected" it.
ios and it's backwards compatibility issues :)
 

Floydian

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Dec 7, 2011
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steve_1979 said:
Floydian said:
It's like it has become fashionable to slate cables manufacturers. Not on.

Why not?

With the exception of some screened cables which need to be connected at one end it doesn't matter which way round a cable goes. If a cable manufacturer tells you otherwise then they're lying and dererve to be exposed for the charlatans that they are.

I guess more expensive cables don't make a difference either?
 

steve_1979

Well-known member
Jul 14, 2010
231
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carter said:
ifor said:
carter said:
could be the case on your posh hi end cables but on my budget ones most of the punctuation is lost ;-).....anyway why wouldn't "my" be reversed

Sorry, I hadn't noticed that iOS had "corrected" it.
ios and it's backwards compatibility issues :)

Spell checkers are so inconvenient. Every time I type the word 'foo' (which is quite often :shifty: ) I have to go back and correct it because it's been changed to 'too'.
 

steve_1979

Well-known member
Jul 14, 2010
231
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Floydian said:
steve_1979 said:
Floydian said:
It's like it has become fashionable to slate cables manufacturers. Not on.

Why not?

With the exception of some screened cables which need to be connected at one end it doesn't matter which way round a cable goes. If a cable manufacturer tells you otherwise then they're lying and dererve to be exposed for the charlatans that they are.

I guess more expensive cables don't make a difference either?

I'm going to refrain from answering that one because it'll start another silly cable debate which would be of no use to the OP. :)
 

pauln

New member
Feb 26, 2008
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Floydian said:
steve_1979 said:
Floydian said:
It's like it has become fashionable to slate cables manufacturers. Not on.

Why not?

With the exception of some screened cables which need to be connected at one end it doesn't matter which way round a cable goes. If a cable manufacturer tells you otherwise then they're lying and dererve to be exposed for the charlatans that they are.

I guess more expensive cables don't make a difference either?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0ScHCw_o7Q&feature=kp
 

chebby

Well-known member
Jun 2, 2008
1,257
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19,220
http://www.aes.org/sections/pnw/pnwrecaps/2000/lampen/

It's worth reading. Belden are a serious company making products for most market sectors around the world.

There is a good chance that they made a lot of the 'boutique' hi-fi cables that are terminated with fancy looking plugs, packaged and re-sold in hi-fi shops for some of the 'usual suspects' we think of as cable manufacturers.

Their approach is sensible and pragmatic.

To paraphrase ...

"Customer wants their cable insulation printed to indicate best audible 'directionality'. So we give them samples and let them choose the 'best' direction and then produce it as per contract, even though we've proven to our own satisfaction that it's b######s with our own double blind tests."
 

lejockey

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Nov 15, 2009
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This whole 'try it, and be open minded' argument is all very well, except if you then ignore the science and decide its the cable and not the brain? Our ears are not that sensitive, and our brain is continualy compensating for our ears. Our brain is easily tricked. There are a thousand reasons why our brain might hear a difference, of which the cable direction is not one.
 

Native_bon

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2008
182
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I changed my DAC digital cable the other day for one thats got a direction arrow on it, now I can hear music into the future. Amazing what happens when you use directional cables :grin:
 

steve_1979

Well-known member
Jul 14, 2010
231
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Native_bon said:
I changed my DAC digital cable the other day for one thats got a direction arrow on it, now I can hear music into the future. Amazing what happens when you use directional cables :grin:

I made that mistake once and when playing Stairway to Heaven it started spouting out Satanic verses about some toolshead. :O
 

kmlav

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Jun 28, 2009
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Right I have changed mine to point in the correct direction and I can say without a shadow of doubt the the arrows now point a different way.
 

DocG

Well-known member
May 1, 2012
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kmlav said:
Right I have changed mine to point in the correct direction and I can say without a shadow of doubt the the arrows now point a different way.

Not so sure! It might be your brain playing tricks on you!
 

NHL

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Nov 12, 2009
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Direction does not matter, as long as the amplifier is placed higher than the speakers. The electrons will then fall down to the speakers, by the gravity force.
 

mikeparker59

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Apr 6, 2010
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Should the arrows on my speaker cables be visible on the top surface of said cable or laid next to the floor? :?
 

chebby

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Jun 2, 2008
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mikeparker59 said:
Should the arrows on my speaker cables be visible on the top surface of said cable or laid next to the floor? :?

Next to the floor? You mean you're not keeping the precious signal elevated from the horrors that dwell there?

4227l.jpg
 

hifikrazy

New member
Aug 9, 2007
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I do believe that cables make a difference, but just to be a sport...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UQDTZcpsDE
 

davedotco

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Apr 24, 2013
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chebby said:
mikeparker59 said:
Should the arrows on my speaker cables be visible on the top surface of said cable or laid next to the floor? :?

Next to the floor? You mean you're not keeping the precious signal elevated from the horrors that dwell there?

4227l.jpg

Absolutely.

The effect of the surrounding dielectric (insulator then air) on the signal flow through a speaker cable is well documented.

The effect of a randomly changing dielectric such as that which occur when speaker cables are run along the floor can affect the sound in different ways.

Cable supports, such as those illustrated, is the only safe way to reduce this problem. Make sure you match the material and the spacing to your particular cable.
 

chebby

Well-known member
Jun 2, 2008
1,257
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davedotco said:
chebby said:
mikeparker59 said:
Should the arrows on my speaker cables be visible on the top surface of said cable or laid next to the floor? :?

Next to the floor? You mean you're not keeping the precious signal elevated from the horrors that dwell there?

4227l.jpg

Absolutely.

The effect of the surrounding dielectric (insulator then air) on the signal flow through a speaker cable is well documented.

The effect of a randomly changing dielectric such as that which occur when speaker cables are run along the floor can affect the sound in different ways.

Cable supports, such as those illustrated, is the only safe way to reduce this problem. Make sure you match the material and the spacing to your particular cable.

Russ Andrews say nothing about that. They promote their elevators as a solution to the problem of vibration in floors affecting the signal.
 

kmlav

New member
Jun 28, 2009
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DocG said:
kmlav said:
Right I have changed mine to point in the correct direction and I can say without a shadow of doubt the the arrows now point a different way.

Not so sure! It might be your brain playing tricks on you!

here is the photographic evidence that proves that the arrows are indeed pointing in the right direction.

iframe>
"
 

kmlav

New member
Jun 28, 2009
36
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DocG said:
kmlav said:
Right I have changed mine to point in the correct direction and I can say without a shadow of doubt the the arrows now point a different way.

Not so sure! It might be your brain playing tricks on you!

here is the photographic evidence that proves that the arrows are indeed pointing in the right direction.

IMG_0542_zpsa5532d98.jpg
 

davedotco

New member
Apr 24, 2013
20
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chebby said:
davedotco said:
chebby said:
mikeparker59 said:
Should the arrows on my speaker cables be visible on the top surface of said cable or laid next to the floor? :?

Next to the floor? You mean you're not keeping the precious signal elevated from the horrors that dwell there?

4227l.jpg

Absolutely.

The effect of the surrounding dielectric (insulator then air) on the signal flow through a speaker cable is well documented.

The effect of a randomly changing dielectric such as that which occur when speaker cables are run along the floor can affect the sound in different ways.

Cable supports, such as those illustrated, is the only safe way to reduce this problem. Make sure you match the material and the spacing to your particular cable.

Russ Andrews say nothing about that. They promote their elevators as a solution to the problem of vibration in floors affecting the signal.

Russ is, as usual, wrong on this.

Speaker cables are not microphonic, easily proved, try hitting them with something with the amp turned up, no sound or movement of speaker cones, nothing.....!

The electromagnetic field that surrounds a current carrying conductor is real and measurable. The dielectric material that surrounds the conductor will affect the characteristic impedence of the cable so it is best to avoid random changes in dielectric throughout the length of the cable.

Since the inverse square rule applies, raising the cable a few inches off the floor reduces the effect of the floor to negligable proportions, which the only requires the listener to determine the optimun spacing of the supports by comparative listening tests.
 

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