Cable Controversy

Even for short runs, I believe the benefit of eliminating cable-induced noise would outweigh any theoretical losses from restoring phase.

I see the topic of discussion on this thread is dealing with balanced cables at the moment so forgive me if I take a slight detour from that.  However the OP asked about cables in general, and requested to hear "voices of experience and sanity", so here are my two pennies.

It is my opinion that the community is greatly mistaken about cables.  While I firmly believe that different cables sound differently from one another, I am equally convinced that audiophiles are wrong about what the cables are actually doing in a system.  For example, in the amplifier/speaker relationship, if you really want to hear what your amplifier sounds like, your speaker cable should be exactly the same wire that is inside of your amp going to its binding posts.  Right?  All these high end cables we put as the interface between amp and speaker that give us tremendous air and expansive soundstage, etc., are all DOING SOMETHING to the signal to give us the ILLUSION of air and expansive soundstage.  Anyone who believes that expensive cables are unlocking something magical from your amplifier is a fool.  You can't get something from nothing.  If you have some generic wire inside your amplifier and speaker, insert a $4,000 speaker cable between them and VOILA!  Now you have successfully unlocked the amplifier's full potential.  Or, my favorite, "found a cable that gets out of the way of the music".  Give me a break.

So just to recap:  Yes, I believe different cables sound differently from on another, but it's because they are manipulating the signal to give you the illusion of more this or that.  They DO NOT unlock your amplifier's greatness.  If you truly want to know what your amp sounds like, use the same wire inside your amp as speaker cable.  

This is what makes most sense to me.

devilboy says "For example, in the amplifier/speaker relationship, if you really want to hear what your amplifier sounds like, your speaker cable should be exactly the same wire that is inside of your amp going to its binding posts. Right?"

Uh wrong.  I have read much in the ongoing discussion of the role of cables in an audio system, but I don't recall ever hearing that argument before.  Open up your power amplifier and look around a bit.  You will find several different types/gauges of wire in there geared to a specific task that wire is designed to accomplish.  The wire going to your binding posts is just one of that many designed for a specific purpose.  Is that wire important?  You bet.  After breaking a binding post on my amp, I took it to an audio designer who also repairs and modifies equipment.  When he saw the cable in my amp, he recommended that he replace it with a cable with a purer conductor and superior dialectric that would more faithfully and effortlessly transport the signal (music) to the new binding posts.  I followed his advice.  Did he send 16 feet of that same wire home with me to be used as speaker cables?  Of course not.  That wire was not designed to faithfully transport the music signal for such a distance.  

All I have been trying to accomplish with the wires in my system is to faithfully transport the music signal from one place to another with as little negative impact as possible.  I do agree with you that different cables do alter the resulting sound of a system.  And cables can't create something that isn't already there in the music, but.... they can, do to their relative quality of transporting a signal, preserve more or less of that music signal's integrity.

"found a cable that gets out of the way of the music". Give me a break. 
I guess I can't give you a break after you made the statement quoted above.  That is EXACTLY what the goal of all the cables in a system should be.  Get out of the way and let the music flow!

Good points all around guys! Keep the information on cables/cords a-flowing.

I agree that, in theory, the role of cable is to deliver signal 'faithfully' (for lack of a better word), with as little degradation to the signal as possible.  Audioquest for one espouses this type of philosophy in some of their ads. It would stand to reason that I would like the Audioquest sound, but there are other wires on the market that sound better to my ear, in my system. I have no idea whether my wires of choice are more faithful (than Audioquest) to the original signal. Perhaps they are introducing good-sounding distortion into the playback chain.