Cable design is a lot like creating a pizza

@jumia 

A very good analogy! So I’ll have a plain pizza and add my own toppings of amp and dac and DSP please.

@rodman99999 

 I have no doubt that there are many using cables as tone controls, which simply goes to show: cables CAN/DO make a difference in reproduction.

      However: everyone I know that uses high-end cables, regardless of position in their system, is attempting to do as little damage to their signal* as possible.

                             *the goal = neutrality/faithful reproduction

at first glance these two statements appear contradictory to me. They raise the question as to how do we know that cables are revealing the truth versus adding desirable distortion? Seems like there might be a place for measurement here.

once we recognize that there is such a thing as desirable distortion then the question becomes what is the most effective way to add it when it is desired. I would think that DSP would certainly be competitive with cables as a means. If you want to learn more about desirable distortion I suggest you read some of what Nelson Pass has written about his First Watt amps.

@holmz -

     Maxwell's equations weren't wrong, but: there's much more involved*, when we're dealing with retaining a plethora of frequencies/voices (instrumental and vocal), ambient/room information (height, width, depth) and placement of the afore mentioned voices, within that space.    (iow: much more sensitive info, than what's contained in DC or AC).

       Even those involved in manufacturing PC boards for more the more sensitive RF systems, take into account the variables involved when choosing materials, as signal speed is dependent on their dielectric constants and possible frequencies to be encountered.

       We've engaged in this conversation before, so: I suspect your queries to be more argumentative, than inquisitive.    Hence: this post is more for those extant, that are genuinely interested in the Physics of what's what with our wires.

                                      If I'm wrong: my apologies!

"But what part of a stereo systems is like a transmission line?"

                 *http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/TransLines.pdf

@bruce19 -

     Some of us have had the blessing/experience of being heavily involved with the production and recording of live sound, in a multitude of venues, over decades.

     Having recordings that one has personally made, can generate high confidence in one's reference materials.

      I've never been able to abide audible distortion*, in any system I'm responsible for, or: listen to.

     PLEASE: save me the, "auditory sensory memory" rhetoric, as that (as regards EVERY OTHER of the human senses) varies greatly between individuals.  ie: how hard is it for you, when you answer the phone, to recognize the voice at the other end, even if you haven't heard it in years?

             *ie: "warmth/musicality", colorations, added pleasant harmonics, etc

If I’m gonna spend a couple thousand dollars on some so-called hiend cables I’m gonna need a better explanation of what I’m getting.

When I call up a company and ask questions some of these people seem very arrogant. They give standardized rhetoric that never really answered my question. They are being purposely vague they really don’t want to give you a meaningful helpful response. They want people to have faith that their pretty cables Will be fine.

I have spent a lot of money on cables. I now have mono blocks, which are a good idea, and really long speaker cables which I bought before I got the mono blocks. So I’m stuck with the longer speaker cables. I am told I would not benefit much if I was to get shorter cables.

But now I need a 14 foot interconnect cable which is so much more then a 1 m interconnect.

Why the hell are cables so damn expensive? Because people are willing to pay because they know no better.