Be sure to switch the cable direction again after you have become fully acclimated to their sound. Let them settle in and then switch again. First sonic impressions can be misleading. It can take several swaps of direction to fully understand and hear what's going on.
Geoffkait - right???
As my system becomes more resolving, it’s much easier to hear the results of tweaks. Since most of my IC’s are balanced, they can only be plugged in one direction. Yet, I do have S/PDIF cables that can be reversed. A Pure Note Paragon Enhanced S/PDIF has been parked in my HT system for years. I thought I’d give it a try again in my 2ch rig. There’s even an arrow for signal flow. After settling in, the music sounded pleasant, but not very engaging. So, I reversed the cable with the arrow facing the source -Voilà. Everything snapped into place. A rich, organic presentation with excellent dynamics and tone. The difference in direction was obvious. Thx to Geoffkait for recommending to try it both ways!
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Since all wire is directional it can sometimes be tricky to hear it when a cable is reversed. The odds are 50-50 any given cable or fuse is in the correct direction, with the exception of cables that are specifically marked for “wire direction” (as opposed to shield direction). So, all cables and all fuses should be evaluated *one at a time* for directionality. The more cables and fuses you get correct the easier it will be to hear the next thing you evaluate. |
One reason that a symmetrically designed digital audio cable may exhibit directional properties in many systems is that the supposedly symmetrically designed cable is not truly symmetrical at the very high RF frequencies (tens of MHz or more) which comprise the risetimes and falltimes of the digital signal. Minor physical differences between the two ends of the cable in how the connectors and wires are mated and/or soldered together will result at those high frequencies in differences in VSWR-related reflection effects. Which in turn will depend on the impedance characteristics of whichever of the two components each end of the cable is connected to. Which in turn will result in differences in the degree and characteristics of waveform distortion that will be present on transitions between the higher voltage and lower voltage states of the signal as received by the DAC or other component receiving the signal. In turn potentially resulting in differences in timing jitter at the point of D/A conversion. Whether or not there will be audible consequences from all of that will depend on many system-dependent variables, including the exact output impedance of the component providing the signal, within whatever +/- tolerance it is designed to, the exact input impedance of the DAC or other component receiving the signal within its +/- tolerance, the jitter rejection capabilities of the DAC, the characteristics of the cable (including its length and its propagation velocity, which will affect the timing of how reflections and re-reflections from both ends of the cable are seen by the DAC), the susceptibility of both components to ground loop-related noise issues, etc. Best regards, -- Al |
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