Why Do Cables Matter?

People who own the really expensive stuff and still find it lacking assuming its well set up look to whatever else they can at that point to make further tweaks. Wires are a prime candidate. The logic is you have expensive stuff and don’t want to skimp on the wires. Wires can make a noticeable difference in the sound in many cases, like seasoning in soup, but not always and cost may or may not be the reason.

For most people I would recommend get the major components and their integration into the room right first and cost is NOT the primary factor for that. Bigger rooms will cost more in general, that’s the only rule. Mogami wires are always a perfect choice. So are most any commercial grade balanced interconnects if an option. If you must play around from there, so be it. If that involves throwing more money at the wires, more power to you. To each his own.

I own the expensive stuff and I did not feel it was lacking- at least not until I tried some upper tier cables.  I don't see it as tuning or tweaking.  It is refining.  The music is there, the detail and the soundstage is there.  Its more like polishing the mirror to get a clearer, sharper picture.

One other thing I'll add that I thought of.  Cellos and Bass violins sound like they are there now.  Before it was mostly a cello like sound.  Now, all the nuances and resonances of the cello are present- even when streaming music.  I stood 10 feet in front of a cello player in April and listened closely to all of those nuances.  For all I've spent that gives me a lot of satisfaction.  I think the lower registers are the toughest sounds to reproduce correctly which requires both room, electronics and cables to all come together.  Speakers help a lot too, of course.

Accolades to my wife who has patiently permitted me to round out my system with some nice cables.  (She got some benefits from it all too in the form of things she likes.)  

@tonywinga ... Interconnects: I am using all XLRs so I cannot speak to single ended designs. When I upgraded my cable from preamp to amps the bass changed completely. I thought it was great before. Suddenly, the clarity was like crystal. What I thought was a kind of fuzz in some low bass guitar notes tightened up so that now I can hear the strings. It was a startling change.

And 3rd down on your list too. Some try it, some don’t - yet strive to debate it more. Hilarious posts by those debating something they’ve never actually tried before.

Cost has ZERO to do with sonics. Pricier cables may have better mechanical longevity, but I’m still using some cables from the ’80’s

I love this quote.

As a promenant cable designer once stated: "Cables can’t make a system sound better. They can only make it sound worse. It’s all about damage control."