I have been using my jumper cables the wrong way round for some time now...not sure why (idiot perhaps!) I changed it last night so it flows correctly and it does sound better this morning. Any ideas why?
How important is directionality of speaker & jumper cables?
- Thread starter gbhsi1
- Start date
gbhsigbhsi1:I have been using my jumper cables the wrong way round for some time now...not sure why (idiot perhaps!) I changed it last night so it flows correctly and it does sound better this morning. Any ideas why?
Probably all in your head.............
Probably all in your head.............
Well...when I say a long time...it really has not been that long to be honest, say a month or so perhaps! I only started using the jumper cables again when I bought my new speaker cable- the Chord Epic. I was using bi-wire Chord Carnival silverscreen previously. I know this might sound like I am in the land of the fairies, but it sounds better, like it should sound. Playing Van Morrison- Astral Weeks- the edgeness has disappeared! I am very interested in what other folk think of directionality.
''A slight but noticeable sharpness or harshness''...yes, egde was the right word to use...taken the harshness away.
I have kimber 4tc jumper, so it is pretty good. But it does have directional arrows, so should run from the LF to the HF- arrows pointing upwards. Why would a cable have directional arrows if it wasn't meant to be directional?
I always thought one would place the main speaker cable should be connected to the LF and not the HF? and then the jumper cable running from the LF (connected using spades) to the HF (using banana plugs). So are you saying that the main speaker cable should be connected to the HF and not the LF?...if so...interesting, but not sure why? 
Refreshed- thanks for the link. This is how I have it connected now. I'm happy with it. Thanks for your posts.
ha ha! people tend to complicate things in general! I guess it's in our nature. I think you deserve a lie down..... until the next directionality discussion though. You have been warned.
Maybe you should just bi-amp your speakers, then you could avoid the issue of the directionality of your jumper cables altogether!
Yes, I will. I am just saving some cash to buy the Roksan power amp. It will be awesome when I get one. My system is shaping up nicely...slowly, but surely!
Good move. Bi-amping gives a much improved sense of scale and authority. Best thing I ever did, without doubt. FWIW, IMHO, the further you move up the chain, the more directionality of cable matters.
can someone please explain to me the concept of jumpers ? are they used instead of what i call ' bridges ' ie the metal plates supplied to link the two sets of terminals on biwireable speakers ? if so whats the difference ?
Yes- it replaces the 'nasty' links that your speakers come with. Essentially it's a small peice of cable (there are various ranges and price ranges to choose from, dependant on what cable used). This cable runs from your LF to your HF at the back of your speakers. So instead of bi-wiring and spending more, you spend less and get the same effect with a much shorter run of your choice of cable. The benefits is you are using the cable of you choice which offers much better overall sound.
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Quite a late reaction to this post but what I want to say fits perfectly here, so I thought I'd rather not open another thread...
I had exactly the same experience yesterday...
Was reading the speaker cable test in the latest issue where directionality was also mentioned. This made me check my cables (using the FLX-SLIP 14/4, unterminated) and I noticed that the arrows on the front right cable are pointing in the wrong direction (speaker to amp). I decided to turn the cable around although I didn't expect it is going to make any difference. But, I thought, it can also do no harm. And to my great astonishment, it did make a big positive difference. :O
Exactly as mentioned in another post above, that "slight but noticeable sharpness, or harshness" disappeared from the sound I hear from many of my recordings. I'm absolutely positive I'm not just imagining it. Can't hear the difference in equal measure in all recordings but it is particularly noticeable in the Paper Airplane album of Alison Krauss & Union Station. This sounded pretty thin (lack of bass) and harsh before, now it's full-bodied and clean. The sound I hear now is equally dynamic (if not more), detailed and crisp but without that sharp harsh edge.
I changed nothing else in my setup and I'm listening to the same recording (CD quality FLAC) so I assume the difference can only come from reverting the cable direction. Maybe if both cables (left and right) were pointing in the wrong direction the difference would not have been this big. The amp and speakers might also have an influence (mine are a Pioneer SC-LX 83 with Focal Aria 926 fronts). Anyway, I'm very happy with this outcome... :bounce:
The only conclusion I can draw from this is: do respect those arrows on your cable, if there, chances are you'll get better sound.
I had exactly the same experience yesterday...
Was reading the speaker cable test in the latest issue where directionality was also mentioned. This made me check my cables (using the FLX-SLIP 14/4, unterminated) and I noticed that the arrows on the front right cable are pointing in the wrong direction (speaker to amp). I decided to turn the cable around although I didn't expect it is going to make any difference. But, I thought, it can also do no harm. And to my great astonishment, it did make a big positive difference. :O
Exactly as mentioned in another post above, that "slight but noticeable sharpness, or harshness" disappeared from the sound I hear from many of my recordings. I'm absolutely positive I'm not just imagining it. Can't hear the difference in equal measure in all recordings but it is particularly noticeable in the Paper Airplane album of Alison Krauss & Union Station. This sounded pretty thin (lack of bass) and harsh before, now it's full-bodied and clean. The sound I hear now is equally dynamic (if not more), detailed and crisp but without that sharp harsh edge.
I changed nothing else in my setup and I'm listening to the same recording (CD quality FLAC) so I assume the difference can only come from reverting the cable direction. Maybe if both cables (left and right) were pointing in the wrong direction the difference would not have been this big. The amp and speakers might also have an influence (mine are a Pioneer SC-LX 83 with Focal Aria 926 fronts). Anyway, I'm very happy with this outcome... :bounce:
The only conclusion I can draw from this is: do respect those arrows on your cable, if there, chances are you'll get better sound.
TBH I am surprised they worked at all. It is well proven that on speaker cables without directional arrows some of the sound gets lost.
hugo57 said:Quite a late reaction to this post but what I want to say fits perfectly here, so I thought I'd rather not open another thread...
I had exactly the same experience yesterday...
Was reading the speaker cable test in the latest issue where directionality was also mentioned. This made me check my cables (using the FLX-SLIP 14/4, unterminated) and I noticed that the arrows on the front right cable are pointing in the wrong direction (speaker to amp). I decided to turn the cable around although I didn't expect it is going to make any difference. But, I thought, it can also do no harm. And to my great astonishment, it did make a big positive difference. :O
Exactly as mentioned in another post above, that "slight but noticeable sharpness, or harshness" disappeared from the sound I hear from many of my recordings. I'm absolutely positive I'm not just imagining it. Can't hear the difference in equal measure in all recordings but it is particularly noticeable in the Paper Airplane album of Alison Krauss & Union Station. This sounded pretty thin (lack of bass) and harsh before, now it's full-bodied and clean. The sound I hear now is equally dynamic (if not more), detailed and crisp but without that sharp harsh edge.
I changed nothing else in my setup and I'm listening to the same recording (CD quality FLAC) so I assume the difference can only come from reverting the cable direction. Maybe if both cables (left and right) were pointing in the wrong direction the difference would not have been this big. The amp and speakers might also have an influence (mine are a Pioneer SC-LX 83 with Focal Aria 926 fronts). Anyway, I'm very happy with this outcome... :bounce:
The only conclusion I can draw from this is: do respect those arrows on your cable, if there, chances are you'll get better sound.
It is quite possible that you cleaned and tightened the connection as a result of changing it round. The best way to check this, is to change it back and see if the sound changes reverts to what it was.
The_Lhc
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CnoEvil said:hugo57 said:Quite a late reaction to this post but what I want to say fits perfectly here, so I thought I'd rather not open another thread...
I had exactly the same experience yesterday...
Was reading the speaker cable test in the latest issue where directionality was also mentioned. This made me check my cables (using the FLX-SLIP 14/4, unterminated) and I noticed that the arrows on the front right cable are pointing in the wrong direction (speaker to amp). I decided to turn the cable around although I didn't expect it is going to make any difference. But, I thought, it can also do no harm. And to my great astonishment, it did make a big positive difference. :O
Exactly as mentioned in another post above, that "slight but noticeable sharpness, or harshness" disappeared from the sound I hear from many of my recordings. I'm absolutely positive I'm not just imagining it. Can't hear the difference in equal measure in all recordings but it is particularly noticeable in the Paper Airplane album of Alison Krauss & Union Station. This sounded pretty thin (lack of bass) and harsh before, now it's full-bodied and clean. The sound I hear now is equally dynamic (if not more), detailed and crisp but without that sharp harsh edge.
I changed nothing else in my setup and I'm listening to the same recording (CD quality FLAC) so I assume the difference can only come from reverting the cable direction. Maybe if both cables (left and right) were pointing in the wrong direction the difference would not have been this big. The amp and speakers might also have an influence (mine are a Pioneer SC-LX 83 with Focal Aria 926 fronts). Anyway, I'm very happy with this outcome... :bounce:
The only conclusion I can draw from this is: do respect those arrows on your cable, if there, chances are you'll get better sound.
It is quite possible that you cleaned and tightened the connection as a result of changing it round. The best way to check this, is to change it back and see if the sound changes reverts to what it was.
My initial though from the "lack of bass" comment was that he probably had one of the speakers connected out of phase originally and has now accidentally corrected that.
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