How important are speaker cables to the sound emanating from the speakers?

I don't look to professional studio personnel and technicians to know how to set up a fine home audio system. I advise not to listen to them.

I have to assume that you meant me Mr. Schroeder. What a ridiculous statement! I guess that you haven't noticed that most of us here on Audiogon don't try to disparage other members' opinions, we just respectfully state what we believe for ourselves, but without suggesting that anyone else not be listened to.

What bad form.

You have no idea of who I am or what my capabilities are. If Alan Parsons said something ignorant, that means that all music producers can't be trusted with home audio? Give me a break. Some can, some can't.

Most well-known producers aren't famous because of their audiophile chops - they may have none - it's because of the performances they inspire or from the aural effect that they create, the records themselves may sound terrible from an audiophile perspective. Think Phil Spector.

But some producers are first rate audiophiles - otherwise you would not have any audiophile recordings. Because creating an audiophile recording is never by accident - it is really, really hard to do. That's why there are so few of them. And yes, these audiophile producers can wax eloquently about home audio.

Oh and by the way, "a fine home audio system" is ridiculously easier to set up than a competent recording studio system.

studioray, I ask that you not take my directive personally. I have for some time now eschewed the advice of those who prompt the acceptance of blind testing and the conclusion of cables being of insignificant/marginal importance to the sound quality in comparison to components and speakers themselves. I find this to be common in pro sound. 

Perhaps I read your intent wrong, but there are a fair number of people who enter discussions on efficacy of cables and direct attention to blind testing promoting a conclusion which precludes cables as an efficacious means of improving home systems. Most of us here are familiar with blind testing, so you didn't really add much to the discussion. Perhaps if you were to discuss your experiences and conclusions rather than try to stir things up to foment argument I would have reacted differently. 

I have had many contacts within the audiophile industry with persons on the pro side, and read a fair bit on ABX. I also had the pleasure of conducting some blind testing for myself when I reviewed the ABX Comparator from Audio by Van Alstine. That settled the matter for me; I was able to consistently identify cables in blind testing. In fact, cables were easier to identify than amps! So, since that time I have little patience for the entire "blind testing shows there's no difference in sound," thing. 

So, my conclusions and advice has little to do with you, per se. You simply gave me the opportunity state my perspective. I should add that I do not turn away from listening to those on the pro side entirely. I have had many wonderful discussions with people in the industry who work both the home and pro side of audio. They are a wealth of information, and as you say some of them have been marvelous to interact with. So, my first statement was too strong; I should have limited it to cables. 

However, I also see an influence from the pro side that prompts audiophiles to think that quite inexpensive amps, DACs, etc. are as good or better for building home audio systems. I have not spent as much time on that issue, so I won't comment now. Perhaps as time permits I will do as I have on other topics such as "Burn In" and conduct comparisons to reach more firm conclusions.  

Anyway, there's enough room under the audio tent for divergent opinions. Of course there may be some producers and engineers who excel in home audio, but I aver that if they have dismissed cabling as a critical element of a system they do injustice to the task.  If their conclusion is that any cable will do, imo they should be avoided. There are all manner of discussions and admonitions here about reviewers, dealers, manufacturers and individuals. Pro audio is not exempt. 

Now, one last note; I have no interest whatsoever to debate the merits of blind testing or cables. I have shared my experiences and people can read it for themselves. They can also read my many articles at Dagogo.com on reviewed cables, which include technical discussion from the designers, some of whom are engineers. I allow the cable manufacturers to explain why they made their design choices. Obviously, every cable company� thinks they have the solution, but collectively there is a wealth of information on what influences cables' sound, and how it relates to setting up home systems.  

Like everything else in audio you never know till you try it in your system in your room .
Both the fun and the despair in this hobby .

I noticed a big improvement by selling my speaker cables, removing my speaker binding posts, and wiring the crossovers directly to the amp outputs with short (18") Cardas copper litz wire (11.5gauge) in twisted pair. Sounded much better than my expensive 10' speaker cables.

- Its been well established in the prior posts herein that speaker cables matter. The naysayers can  have their opinions, and let's avoid those stupid cable war posts and respect differing opinions.

- for the many,  the sonic benefits of different cables (thst is  all of different brands AND different price points) are very system dependent and one size does not fit all.

- As you move up  the quality build kit strata with the increased resolution capabilities to make it work, the added cost gear may make it worthwhile to move up the speaker cable selection pricepoint in lockstep with ICs and power cables.

Conversely, there is also no guarantee that new Brand X at a loftier pricepoint will actually deliver that quantum leap ethereal sonic performance benefit. Brand name alone and price point alone are  no guarantees that you will like the outcome - full stop . You HAVE to audition yourself in your OWN system.

the takeaway:

i will rehash  a prior post to serve as a litmus test that cables DO matter. and you don't need to resort to any blind test as the only silver bullet poster child for an actual validation in an  audition shootout / bake-off of contenders and pretenders.

in brief: NORDOST ran a repeated 3-day audio expo demonstration symposium in Toronto on that very issue, it was attended by thousands . It was also attended and written up as such in a  Canadian AUDIO mag

He wrote an article that highlights his litmus test on the effects of swapping in better cables as reported by him reporting on the shared observations of the thousands of attendees at the TAVES audio expo in Toronto in Nov 2014. With reference to the  above , ... his conclusion summarizes it well.

Nordost

"... I had a chance to sit in on a couple demonstrations in the Nordost room, giving my feet a well deserved break. I’m very familiar with the benefits of high quality cables and use a full Nordost Heimdall 2 loom with my reference two-channel setup. That being said, I always find the Nordost demonstrations to be an “ear-opening” experience.

Michael Taylor from Nordost demonstrated the significant sonic benefits of replacing an OEM cable with a Nordost model – in particular

1) a swap of a single USB cable, from OEM to Nordost Blue Heaven ($250/2m), to Heimdall 2 ($500/2m) and;

2) a swap of a single RCA interconnect, from OEM, to Blue Heaven, to Heimdall 2, to Tyr 2 and finally Valhalla 2.

Along with convincing the audience in the room that cables DO matter, I’ve now got the bug to upgrade...."

You are going to have to experiment yourself to find the better mix for your system gear .