Hello everyone.
First off, I have to thank Amir for this wonderful and informative site. The information and measurements are based on actual science and the proper engineering of equipment and accessories, not made up of what I like to call "marketing confusion".
I read this site everyday. I rarely post any comments but this particular review is very interesting to me.
My post today is because I am a firm believer that each of the individual HiFi components (amp, DAC, etc.) "sound" can be predicted and proven with proper instrumentation and measurements.
Now....on to the show.
I recently saw something as I was checking and installing some line level, non directional interconnect cables. (brand name withheld)
I was doing a routine check for continuity using a decent DMM set for low Ohms out 2 decimal places (Fluke 87). After cleaning all cable contacts,
I measured and laid down the first cable, measured the other one and saw a slight difference in value (a couple of hundredths of and Ohm) no big deal. Just because I am a curious guy, I picked up the first one again and measured it. It had near the same reading as the first time. Picked up the second one but remembered which end I originally had attached to the negative meter lead, I flipped it end for end and measured it again. Now it read just about the same as the first cable measurement. (again, these values are a few hundredths of an Ohm) Repeated the above action 10-12 times for consistency. The results were positive.
I marked the end that had the negative meter lead and lowest value just for the sake of doing it. Fine.
I installed them so they both had the markings on the preamp/DAC output side. HiFi sounds as expected. Enjoyed the music. I got curious again and flipped them end for end. Yes the HiFi sounded fine but I had a nagging feeling something subtle had changed. Went away for a bit and listened some more. Fine but still uneasy. So I flipped back the cable, I was comfortable with the sound again. Tired brain? Or some kind of actual sound presentation change. Tried the experiment again on a different day..... You can guess the rest. Try it yourself, what have you got to lose?
Make a long story longer( sorry folks) I measured all kinds of wire and cables around the house and I saw the same kind of meter measurement phenomena.
So what gives? What is the science behind these measurements that I have seen?
I do ask this in all sincerity and am not looking to start any kind of arguments or bad mouthing of any kind. (I know how cable discussions can go
) I just want to know why a wire can measure subtly different in each direction.
Thank You.
Now, with great trepidation, I will await some kind of answer.