arrow which way; spk cable

[oldbuckster]

honestly in my uneducated opinion, it would not matter, it will sound the same either way. If I were to guess what the marketing people were thinking who had those arrows created I would say they should point outwards from the amp to the speaker.

There was a place up in Rochester NY called the Half Dollar. A great place for lunch. Beers were 5 bucks, which was really expensive then and the food?.... well who cared. Though on many nights you could realise why they called the place the Half Dollar, as for that was the size of the bruises on the dancers bodies. ouch

Jacksonbart ; You my friend, are not right!!!!!!

[efzauner]

It actually makes a big difference. It depends on a lot of things.

First you have to know if your amp is inverting or not. If it is non-inverting then the current flows out of the positive speaker connection on the positive side of the soundwave. If it is inverting then the current flows in on the positive side of the soundwave.

Second it depends on your crossover points. If you woofer is direct, mids are inverted and your tweets are also direct, then most of the sound will be direct. But if you have only a 2 way crossing over at say 1.5Khz and the tweeter is inverted, then most of the soundwave will be inverted. Get it?

Is it current flow or electron flow? In the case of semiconductors, it is holes, or the absense of an electron in the crystal lattice that transport current. If you have push pull, then you have PNP and NPN transistors. In one the holes are positive, in the other the holes are negative. if the holes are positive then the current flows that direction. Do you follow? If the holes are negative, that means electron flow and the current is reversed . The same would be for Mosftet output stages with Pchannel and Nchannel fets.

The most difficult part is to determine what the cable manufacturer intended the arrows to mean? Current flow or electron flow? Does it say that on the spec sheet? Are the arrows the same direction for both conductors?

Putting all of the above in a neat boolean formula:

If ((inverting amp) and ((Push Pull)Not(NPNorPNP)) and ((2 way inverting tweeter) Not(3 way inverting mid)) and (arrows mean current)) OR (you payed alot for the wire) then Arrows point to speakers, Else IF (you did not pay much for wire) then Arrows = Don't care .

[Speedball]

Just a quick question; If you have speaker cable with arrows pointing>>> How do you connect them;>>>towards speaker, or<<<<towards receiver?I looked through old posts, Boy there were some heated exchanges on there, but never a response to the direction of the arrows.

A few years ago I chatted with the big man himself at Monster cable and he said the arrows point from the source or power to the speaker. (take that for what it's worth)

[colterphoto1]

Dang EFZ, for a while there I thought you were serious! Very well written, especially liked the boolean section!

Michael

[PrestonTom]

Just a quick question; If you have speaker cable with arrows pointing>>> How do you connect them;>>>towards speaker, or<<<<towards receiver?I looked through old posts, Boy there were some heated exchanges on there, but never a response to the direction of the arrows.

A few years ago I chatted with the big man himself at Monster cable and he said the arrows point from the source or power to the speaker. (take that for what it's worth)

One thing that irritates me are manufacturers that sell overpriced "gizmos" to the unsuspecting.

Enough already, it does not make any difference.

However, I find it very appropriate that a company like Monster spews out this "information". If the unsuspecting were educated about these issues, then companies like Monster would soon be out of businesss. Expectations & placebo effects are very real. So are snake oil salesmen

-Tom

[edwinr]

I think having arrows imprinted on my speaker cables are essential for good sound. My son really enjoys driving his toy cars beside the cable in the direction of the arrows. When he does this, he is really quiet. This lowers the noise floor when I listen to music. My son's reason for driving in the direction of the arrows, is that if you go in the opposite direction; "...you'll crash, Dad!"

[Speedball]

.....lol

[JJkizak]

We could use a few words from the "Coat hanger guy" on this thread.

JJK

[dlb945]

Steve Hoffman is a well known recording and remastering engineer. Take a look at this subject in a forum on his web site:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-41802.html

>>>Dan

[oldbuckster]

Steve Hoffman is a well known recording and remastering engineer. Take a look at this subject in a forum on his web site:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-41802.html

>>>Dan

Dan; good post; Gentlemen, thanks for all the good posts, really!

[Cal Blacksmith]

Much adoo about little. There is NO difference in which way the arrows on the SPEAKER wire face. The signal is ALTERNATING CURRENT!!! IT FLOWS BOTH WAYS THROUGH THE WIRE!!!

There is a difference however with the end phase of the speaker. You can quickly check if things are right by checking which way the woffer cone moves. Get a test recording or a mike or let down the needle on a TT. The woofer cone should FIRST move out then back. If it goes back then out, you need to reverse the phase of the speaker wire.