I can't answer for anybody else, but I was refering to audio interconnect cables. My presumption (note I am not 100% positive)was that they contained a twisted pair representing the positive and negative flow and also had a shield that was only connected to the ground side of the originating cable.

I admit that I was making an assumptions that the direction arrows were meaningful from an electrical engineering perspective (which is something I know little or nothing about). I am not suggesting that people shouldn't experiment and go with what sounds best to them. I was more interested in knowing if there really was a measurable difference in the level of shielding provided. If there isn't then I will concede this is snake oil.

Unbalanced cables that use the arrows have twisted pair cable inside for the "ground" and "hot" leads. Connecting the shield at one end only ensures that crud that is blocked by the shield is not transmitted component-to-component. Balanced (professional) cables generally have the shield connected at both ends since many cables may be connected together in a pro environment and there is no time to waste trying to figure out if this cable or that cable has it's shield connected at only one end. The shield tab isolation is taken care of at the equpment end.

the question was in re: to unbalanced ics, and what most people said is what we thought as well. thanks. oh and sh, i thought you said you were not going to respond to my topics. lol, j/k.

Sorry, I'll check to see who started the thread next time.

Soundhound: Thank you for confirming my understanding of the construction. I would like to reconfirm that I understood one aspect of you previous comment correctly.

By stating that "Connecting the shield at one end only ensures that crud that is blocked by the shield is not transmitted component-to-component." imply that there is some merit to the validity of the direction arrows?

It has a lot to do with eliminating noise from ground loops.

Conecting the shield at one end only is a valid concept. I just think that the manufacturers are making it seem more than it really is. If they would just say what it is really for, isolating components, then the arrows would make more sense. Implying that cables are inherently "directional" to electron flow is just lying.

Charlie, yes, ground loops too. This connection behaves differently in balanced and unbalanced circuits - ground loops are still possible in unbalanced circuits since the ground must sill be connected between components.

I worked many years as a Transmission Engineer with a very large Telco. We always terminated the shield at the transmit end. In audio equipment that would mean the Out Jacks.

Yep - I designed and supervised installation and startup of industrial control systems, probably the worst place for EMI I'll ever see. And as 'hound pointed out, in typical RCA stuff for AV the outer conductor is also a potential ground loop carrier.