And if you buy into the theory that the grounded end must be at the (origin / destination - choose one), then I suppose that you will end up with some cables with jackets connceting to a particular component and some not - in the case of components that both "send" and "receive" a signal (receivers / pre-amps, recording devices of all types etc.) Now tell me that I'm going to hear a difference. And if I do, why not just swap the cables around until it sounds better. So what was the real purpose behind the arrows? Seems like leaving them off gives me an equal chance of plugging them in in a manner that yields the best sound - again assuming that it does make a difference. Which is why I said that they "sound the same".

Jeff Mackwood