PG RCA direction

bruther · Post by **bruther** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 7:07 pm

Does anyone know which direction the ARX 800 series PG wires are supposed to go? There are arrows on the RCA jacket and I can't remember which direction is supposed to go which way.

Any help?

76Trans Am · Post by **76Trans Am** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 7:15 pm

Arrows usualy follow signal flow.
Make sense?

bruther · Post by **bruther** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 3:33 am

thanks

HoseHead · Post by **HoseHead** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 7:23 am

Directional signal flow???? It's copper.

Enlighten me please.

HH

Post by **Bfowler** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:10 am

well the theory goes that since elections orbit clockwise, they will travel faster and reject noise on wire that's also been spun clockwise (and the twisted pair is also spun clockwise)

so thats whats up with the directional arrows....will it ever make a audible difference...lol...you tell me

dedlyjedly · Post by **dedlyjedly** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:30 pm

Nice one Brian! That's certainly one of the most creative attempts to support the "signal flow" theory I've ever seen!

The arrow on a shielded set of rca's indicates the end of the cable that has a "drain" for the shield. Not all rca's are shielded and a lot that are drain at both ends. That's why you don't see the arrows on all sets of rca's. The shield is intended to reduce inducted noise along the signal path. The last place you want the noise to drain (given the option) is at the amplifier so it is optimal to orient the drain at the source. Point the arrow against the signal flow!

Post by **ttocs** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:01 pm

they only go clockwise above the equator though............................. You do not want a south american set of rca's, won't sound right at all.

Post by **Bfowler** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:29 pm

dedlyjedly wrote:Nice one Brian! That's certainly one of the most creative attempts to support the "signal flow" theory I've ever seen!

The arrow on a shielded set of rca's indicates the end of the cable that has a "drain" for the shield. Not all rca's are shielded and a lot that are drain at both ends. That's why you don't see the arrows on all sets of rca's. The shield is intended to reduce inducted noise along the signal path. The last place you want the noise to drain (given the option) is at the amplifier so it is optimal to orient the drain at the source. Point the arrow against the signal flow!

that wasnt meant to be a joke....so much...a monster rep really told me that!

on another note....i LOVE it when manufactures label it as a built in remote wire)

dedlyjedly · Post by **dedlyjedly** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:13 pm

now that's funny! i would of loved to talk to that jackass about his technologically superior products. even without the know how to dispute his electron rotation theory (which seems flimsy at best) i would have enjoyed watching him back peddle after showing him how changing the direction of the cable has no impact whatsoever on the orientation of the twist!

HoseHead · Post by **HoseHead** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:06 am

The ring on every RCA connector is ground or as indicated, a "drain".

I have a drain under each toilet in the house too.
So if I put the seats on upside down, my turds will spin clockwise and get to the septic tank faster?

HH

bruther · Post by **bruther** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:19 am

dedlyjedly wrote:Nice one Brian! That's certainly one of the most creative attempts to support the "signal flow" theory I've ever seen!

The arrow on a shielded set of rca's indicates the end of the cable that has a "drain" for the shield. Not all rca's are shielded and a lot that are drain at both ends. That's why you don't see the arrows on all sets of rca's. The shield is intended to reduce inducted noise along the signal path. The last place you want the noise to drain (given the option) is at the amplifier so it is optimal to orient the drain at the source. Point the arrow against the signal flow!

So which way is it supposed to point?
Is anyone truly certain on these?

Post by **Bfowler** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:56 am

HoseHead wrote:The ring on every RCA connector is ground or as indicated, a "drain".

I have a drain under each toilet in the house too.
So if I put the seats on upside down, my turds will spin clockwise and get to the septic tank faster?

HH

nope, they will shoot up out of your toilet a and hit the ceiling...or whatever else may be in the way

dedlyjedly · Post by **dedlyjedly** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 2:34 pm

the ring on every rca connector is a ground trace as part of the signal path. that is wholly different from a drain on a noise shield. the arrow indicates the end of the patch cable where the drain is tied into the signal's ground trace.

Point the arrow towards the source!

HoseHead · Post by **HoseHead** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:45 am

dedlyjedly wrote:the ring on every rca connector is a ground trace as part of the signal path. that is wholly different from a drain on a noise shield. the arrow indicates the end of the patch cable where the drain is tied into the signal's ground trace.

Point the arrow towards the source!

I beg to differ. The braid in any quality co-ax (RCA) cable is both an EMF (noise) shield and a ground. As long as the devices in your system are ALL grounded to a single point, the RCA "shield" (ring) will reduce, not prevent, the possibility of noise being induced into the signal wire (tip) as well as reducing the possibility of emitting cross-talk to adjoining cables.

The arrows on these cables are simply a marketing ploy and have no actual benefit in a properly grounded system.

Likewise with such bull crap marketing ploys like "oxygen-free" copper and other Monster Cable type claims. Mom's coat hanger will provide the same quality signal transfer over short distances.

Since a car's electrical system must provide continuosly varying power to wide variety of hardware (window motors, heaters motors, lights, fuel pump, ignition system, stereo etc.), single point grounding is critical to ensure reducing any potential electrical difference (noise) between all hardware.

Comments are encouraged.

HH

Post by **ttocs** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 10:36 am

When I had my first stereo in my truck years ago it was outfitted with the best $2.99 rat shack rca's I could afford. After a year or two I saved some cash and went down to the store and upgraded all my cables to funny enough - monster cables. I think it was $75 or somthing stupid but they looked cool! I was amazed that I thought the bass was louder and fuller but thought that it was probably a plecibo effect. The very next morning my buddy hopped in to go to school and one of his favorite songs was on the radio so he cranked it up. 10 secs later he turned it down, looked at me confused and asked when I got a new amp?

So I disagree that a coat hanger will sound the same as a good quality cable unless you throw in that "short distance" BS. Lets not split hairs, it is rare that we get to use short rca runs so why don't we just thow the short distance stuff out since we are talking real world.

good discussion, hopefully nobody gets pissed.

Post by **Bfowler** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:58 pm

the "Coat hanger" test was for speaker wire

i also have noticed that most high end car rca's i see are twisted pair as opposed to co-ax. i DO believe that makes a difference in a car environment.

Post by **Jacampb2** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 2:58 pm

My $.02? Audio signal cable can never be directional, audio is a AC wave form, and by definition the current flow reverses direction every time the wave crosses 0v. I have heard all sorts of arguments for high end cables, and most have something to do with the cables inductance being lower in a certain direction due to some time of black magic/voodoo winding scenario. Obviously construction can have an impact on some characteristics of the cable that most of us don't think, or know about, but I think for the most part, a quality cable is going to do just as well for you as some of the uber cables. I saw a 1 meter pair a while back came in a fucking hardwood case with felt lining and cost about $1500 if memory serves, that is retardiculous!

Anyhow, twisted pair is great, the shield and the ground of the pair are normally at the same potential in an unbalanced cable. Even if the shield is only connected at one end, it is connected to the ground of the pair, and that makes it electrically connected at both ends. shielded twisted pair makes a hell of a lot more sense in balanced signal transmission, but most times a unbalanced twisted pair cable is going to be the higher end cable.

Later,
Jason

Post by **ttocs** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:34 pm

There was an audiophile at work that was just nuts. Bought cryogenically cooled cables with crystal ground isolators. One day about 2 yrs ago he came in all excited about the DVD player he bought, how it upsampled the signal to ALMOST HD standards for only $3500?!?!??! I laughed and pointed out that it would not matter what the output signal was like on a dying format when it was hooked up to his 8 yr old JVC tv using super VHS inputs. Shortly after that he came in all excited about the $8k plasma he bought, and then added a $900 power cable to it that completely changed the picture according to his description.

All I could say is that having never moved out from his mothers house at age 35 had its advantages.....

Good point about the AC wave not being directional. I never really bought into it but never had a good reason like that.