Cable Controversy

"As many people have been quick to note here, the sound a cable brings to a system depends on that system."

Has certainly been said here many times, and accepted by many as dogma.  Personally, I'd prefer not to think of cables as 'flavors' or tone controls, to be used to balance out a system. Rather, I evaluate cables for their inherent 'quality' (for lack of a better word). Another way to look at it is that a well designed and executed (high quality) cable loom will sound great in any neutral, high quality setup.

Agree with hifiman5, disagree with psag.  I believe cables ARE tone controls...without question. 
Everyone's perception of what "sounds good" is different.

 Let's say someone prefers a certain flavor of sound. Cable A might take them further away from that flavor, while cable B may bring their system closer to it. All components have their own flavor as well. They're like ingredients in a recipe. Certain ingredients work well together, some don't. Depends what you want it to taste like. Also, too much of one ingredient can ruin the meal...just like cables.
I have one friend who has two different model pairs of interconnects. The ones going to his preamp are five times as expensive as the ones going to his amp. Why? Because while the first pair has tremendous air but is slightly thinner in bass, the second pair brings that needed bass to the signal. (there's more to it than that but I'm just trying to make this long, borring post shorter, lol).

 There is no right and wrong, just right and wrong TO THAT PERSON, IN THEIR SYSTEM.  

Cabling is not necessarily tone controls, more like, filters.
As in filtering out specific information, filtering in specific information.

@psag   I would encourage you to rethink your last post.  Look at manufacturer's systems that they set up at audio expos...they use the same gear from show to show and that does include cables.  From their own extensive research they have assembled a synergistic system that they believe shows their products in the best light.  In fact, the system components used by the same designer at shows can vary from one product in their line to another.  They know there is no "absolute sound".  They are looking for components that play the best together for the particular product they are endeavoring to showcase.

From a purely scientific perspective cables are primarily and overwhelmingly a function of their resistance. Can the type of conductive material, insulation material, capacitance, the rest of teh audio gear and some other variables effect the overall sound, of course. However, all aspects other than sheer resistance or lack thereof are dwarfed in comparison (to resistance).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_wire

From perspectives other than scientific your guess is as good as mine.