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
Chrisr wrote,

"So basically, we could come close to the perfect cable by inserting a laser beam into the pvc jacket, which is doable with an optical fiber, preferably glass for near-zero loss. Now what copper gauge to use remains a question mark."

I found the perfect cable and perfect power cord. It’s Zero gauge cable. No, not 00 gauge, I use no cables or interconnects or power cords. As in Zero. I’m not a big fan of sub-atomic particle interactions. Think outside the box!


I bet that Zero gauge thing would  beat the so called level 7 anti-cable, MTWTFS, and even on Sundays all seasons.

It is unlikely that you don’t know what to listen for, or am too focused on cable accuracy and resolution, and not enough on actual sound quality.

- it just a case of no two systems sounding alike so why trust a review anyway? 

- but I'd also be leery of trusting a Reviewer who gets any compensation (incl. ads) from a co. whose products are reviewed

- What you CAN trust is a blind listening test - both A/B and extended on familiar program material