Directional Interconnects?

[lovstromp]

Hi. I recently noticed that I had plugged my AudioQuest Sidewinder - between my cd player and amp, in the opposite direction as the arrows point by the plugs.

How important is it actually to comply to these directional arrows? Don't think I noticed too much change, if any, to the sound when I changed it back. Would the duration of time they were connected "wrongly" have influenced the bias?

I hope that the lack of change in sound is down to the fact that my speakers are too big to my apartment, as I had described in another thread. May be finally getting standsmounts at the end of this month though. *prays for the promised payrise

 

[idc]

It does not matter which way round the cable is. The current is AC so it goes both ways and blind tests carried out by Belden the cable maker found that no one could hear a difference. Belden will still sell cables that are 'directional' if a customer wants one!

 

[John Duncan]

Whereas Chord (a cable maker) say it does (and I've heard of them)...

 

[idc]

Do Chord actually make the cable? Or do they they specify and buy it in from the likes of Belden and then attached the phonos, also specified and bought it?

 

[John Duncan]

I have no idea. But my point was this:

/

 

[gwynne61]

What was your point, directional tomatoes?

 

[the record spot]

"You say tomatoes..." - well known saying.

 

[gwynne61]

Ah I see. Anyway are tomatoes directional, more fun than a cable thread methinks.

 

[lovstromp]

Thanks fo rclearing that up. Will go check my tomatoes too

 

[Andrew Everard]

idc:Do Chord actually make the cable? Or do they they specify and buy it in from the likes of Belden and then attached the phonos, also specified and bought it?

Once more, in English?

 

[Anonymous]

2011 and these cable debate's still going on!

jeeeez! lol

 

[eternaloptimist]

Those naughty electrons... if only they would follow the arrow printed on the cable...

Cable directionality... what.... utter... nonsense.

It is this kind of snake oil that gets audiophiles ridiculed (in this case, rightly so!)

Didn't we go through the Enlightenment already??

Geez... not so optimistic tonight...

 

[aliEnRIK]

idc:Do Chord actually make the cable? Or do they they specify and buy it in from the likes of Belden and then attached the phonos, also specified and bought it?

Did you ever get an email response from Chord idc? (I recall you were going to ask about their blind tests)

 

[idc]

Andrew Everard:
idc:Do Chord actually make the cable? Or do they they specify and buy it in from the likes of Belden and then attached the phonos, also specified and bought it?

Once more, in English?

Do Chord have all of the machines necessary to make all the different wires and sheathing that they use from the raw materials, or do they buy in cable (say from Belden) and other components (sheathing, connectors), having had the Chord name put on them and then put it together?

I looked up the answer on the Chord site and the answer is everything is designed in house and most stuff is assemble in house. It is not clear if they make their cables from scratch or not.

Chord

 

[pete321]

I just bought a pair of Belden interconnects and I'm very impressed with them, no directional marker.

 

[aliEnRIK]

pete321:I just bought a pair of Belden interconnects and I'm very impressed with them, no directional marker.

Ive tons of cables with no directional markings. Doesnt impress me though

 

[Andrew Everard]

idc:having had the Chord name put on them and then put it together?

Or in other words, like most cable manufacturers, Chord has components made to its specification, and then assembles them into finished products.

 

[pete321]

aliEnRIK:

pete321:I just bought a pair of Belden interconnects and I'm very impressed with them, no directional marker.

Ive tons of cables with no directional markings. Doesnt impress me though

Yeah, very good

. But seriously, even if it's a cable that hasn't got an arrow marking direction, the general rule is the writing on the cable should read from the source end. Don't know whether it makes a difference in terms of less resistance, but it's a rule that's easy enough to follow.

 

[Anonymous]

Explanation

In balanced pair
operation, the two wires carry equal and opposite signals and the
destination detects the difference between the two. This is known as differential mode
transmission. Noise sources introduce signals into the wires by
coupling of electric or magnetic fields and tend to couple to both wires
equally. The noise thus produces a common-mode signal which is
cancelled at the receiver when the difference signal is taken. This
method starts to fail when the noise source is close to the signal
wires; the closer wire will couple with the noise more strongly and the common-mode rejection
of the receiver will fail to eliminate it. This problem is especially
apparent in telecommunication cables where pairs in the same cable lie
next to each other for many miles. One pair can induce crosstalk
in another and it is additive along the length of the cable. Twisting
the pairs counters this effect as on each half twist the wire nearest to
the noise-source is exchanged. Providing the interfering source remains
uniform, or nearly so, over the distance of a single twist, the induced
noise will remain common-mode. Differential signaling also reduces electromagnetic radiation from the cable, along with the associated attenuation allowing for greater distance between exchanges.

The twist rate (also called pitch of the twist, usually defined in twists per meter)
makes up part of the specification for a given type of cable. Where
nearby pairs have equal twist rates, the same conductors of the
different pairs may repeatedly lie next to each other, partially undoing
the benefits of differential mode. For this reason it is commonly
specified that, at least for cables containing small numbers of pairs,
the twist rates must differ.

 

[davemartin01]

aliEnRIK:
Ive tons of cables with no directional markings. Doesnt impress me though

Get someone else to apply permanent marker and draw an arrow on the cable. Change cable the wrong way and hear the difference. Put it the correct way and it will be all good! More air, space and musicality!