What do audiophiles want from a cable?


What should a high quality interconnect or speaker cable do to the sound of a system? Make it more transparent? Improve the sound stage and focus? Soften unpleasant highs? Tighten the base? Bring out the mids?

To me, a good cable should reveal more of what is on the recording and more of the true nature of my components. So when trying new cables, I look for more detail and accuracy without becoming cold and clinical. This seems logical, and yet after reading reviews and trying a few of the cables in the reviews, I find that the cables that have received glowing endorsements are not especially transparent or revealing. They modify the sound, but they don’t take me where I want to go. I wonder if the reason I don’t hear what the reviewer heard is that I don’t know what to listen for. Am I too focused on cable accuracy and resolution, and not enough on actual sound quality? Or is it just a case of no two systems sounding alike so why trust a review anyway? Thanks.
mward
"If you ...won't consider the importance of the cables that transmit the audio signal from component to component I guess you don't experience a difference with the quality of tires that connect your car to the road."

The above is a really bad analogy and suggests that the poster is ignorant of both audio engineering and mechanical engineering

But it is wrong in a more fundamental sense as well.  It isn't that some "won't consider" it is that in science the affirmative has the burden of proof.

For example, you see a couple of people above making bold claims, but they cannot back it up with ANY real listening tests.  Post the methodology in your own double-blind tests.  Or just tell us what volume of JAES or other engineering or scientific journal the test appeared in.

Also, show where you disconnected and reconnected existing cables to eliminate the effects of removing any corrosion on those connections from your experiment.

Last, we would need to see that any real differences are, in fact, improvements and not simply the result of confirmation bias.


Randy11 wrote,

For example, you see a couple of people above making bold claims, but they cannot back it up with ANY real listening tests. Post the methodology in your own double-blind tests. Or just tell us what volume of JAES or other engineering or scientific journal the test appeared in.

gosh, you mean audio Journals, AES, JAES or whoever, actually think there are audible differences among cables? WOW, they’ve really gotten progressive.

randy-11,

Audiodom already has enough audio cheapskates. Your points of view have been more than thoroughly exhausted by droves of others before you. Those of us that have been around more than 10 minutes have read and heard it all.  You are posting such things all over Audiogon. Give it a rest. Years from now, you will re-read your posts and regret.

Best to you randy-11,
Dave
Years from now, you will re-read your posts and regret.

No he won't Dave. I know folks like randy-11, who derive such pleasure in life by bringing irritation to others. The more aggravated you get, the more enjoyment they get out of life. They are the pebble in the sandal of life.

randy-11 comes from a long line of internet trolls. His father and grandfather were internet trolls. In fact randy-11 is the 5th generation of internet trolls in his family.

One day randy-11 hopes to pass these well learned skills down to his children and grandchildren.

randy-11, I know you are but what am I? 
Great argument dude, thanks for stopping by. Don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you on the way out. 

it sounds like a lot of you live in a fantasy world - do a test

not to mention the 12 year old tone of many of the above remarks