Directional Interconnects - Which Way ?

[RobbieGong]

Which direction should the arrow on these interconnects point in ? ie: away from the amp or in the direction of the amp.
Secondly, Which direction would the arrow point for an equaliser ? towards the amp or away from it ??? Hope I'm making sense guys

[istari_knight]

Which direction should the arrow on these interconnects point in ? ie: away from the amp or in the direction of the amp.
Secondly, Which direction would the arrow point from an equaliser ? towards the amp or away from it ??? Hope I'm making sense guys

AFAIK On any audio cable with arrows the arrows are supposed to point away from the source.

I have my "directional" speaker cables backwards out of spite...

[RobbieGong]

AFAIK On any audio cable with arrows the arrows are supposed to point away from the source.

I have my "directional" speaker cables backwards out of spite...

When you say source I take it you mean the cd, tuner etc (sorry to be thick just making sure). If that's the case then I'm assuming (which I shouldn't ) that in the case on an equaliser, the arrows would then point towards it ?

[The Grand Wazoo]

Surely an EQ device has a pair of input sockets and a pair of output sockets?
If you must follow the arrows on the cables, then your input cables should have the arrow pointing into the EQ and the output cables should have their arrows pointing out & away from the EQ.

Think of your system as a river. Chuck a stick (signal) into it at the point were it starts (the source - CD, tuner, turntable etc). The stick will float downstream, away from the source towards the sea (speakers). On the way, it will pass through the amp and anything else you have connected up.

Simple system:
CD > (in via CD input sockets) amp (out via the speaker sockets) > speakers
....in this case if all the cables have arrow, then they should follow the arrow as shown.

With a pre/power amp:
CD > pre-amp (out via the main out sockets) > power amp (out via the speaker sockets) > speakers

With an EQ between pre & power
CD > pre-amp (out via the main out sockets) > EQ > power amp (out via the speaker sockets) > speakers

If you're putting the EQ into a system with an integrated amp or AV receiver, then you should consider the following:
CD > receiver (out via the EQ outputs) > EQ > receiver (in via the EQ inputs / out via the speaker sockets) > speakers

[RobbieGong]

Surely an EQ device has an pair of input sockets and a pair of output sockets?
If you must follow the arrows on the cables, then your input cables should have the arrow pointing into the EQ and the output cables should have their arrows pointing out & away from the EQ.

Cheers Chris, Amp has built in external adaptor for eq so will follow your instruction- Thanks

[The Grand Wazoo]

For a bit more, see my edit above Rob

[DSJR]

Assuming you can hear a difference at all - and some cables don't mind which way round they are, although others are terribly directional, at least when new - run both the same way and try each pair both ways to see which suits you best.

[RichB]

As long as the crystals are properly aligned it doesnt matter.

I've always assumed that where the manufacturer has bothered to put directional arrows on the cable this is from the component source to the amplifier. For speaker cables it is from the amp to the speaker.

I was recently confused when i bought a home made pair of Klotz AC110 (Rega Clone) and there were no directional indicators. It doesnt appear to make any difference to the sound which way I have them.

[AlanS]

Assuming you can hear a difference at all - and some cables don't mind which way round they are, although others are terribly directional, at least when new - run both the same way and try each pair both ways to see which suits you best.

Excellent wisdom and advice. Dont assume arrows mean anything.

[AlanS]

As long as the crystals are properly aligned it doesnt matter.

I've always assumed that where the manufacturer has bothered to put directional arrows on the cable this is from the component source to the amplifier. For speaker cables it is from the amp to the speaker.

I was recently confused when i bought a home made pair of Klotz AC110 (Rega Clone) and there were no directional indicators. It doesnt appear to make any difference to the sound which way I have them.

Hello
What crystals are you thinking of? Cables are made of metal and usually plastic insulator none of which form crystaline structures unlike minerals, diamond, quartz for example.