DO CABLES REALLY MATTER?

One of the things I find extremely curious about much of the commentary on topics like these, is that the lack of first hand experience with much of what is discussed is shocking.  It’s easy to be smug and resolute, or satisfied in ones own ignorance when your experience is limited.  It is not helpful to expound on topics if ones experience is using zip cord and then going hog wild by trying Audioquest or Kimber.  That’s meant in jest of course, but really folks...if you haven’t lived with a good cross section of what’s available then you have very little understanding of what can be achieved.  I have owned a ridiculously large number of cable designs over the last 30 years, and yes, I even had Fulton Gold Speaker Cables (look those up boys and girls)!  Can someone be happy with conventional cable designs that offer slight differences in their ability to alter the frequency response you hear?  Of course, people love affordable bland products (usually high in salt).  To gain a truly realistic experience however, requires innovation, combined with a love of music and an understanding of audio reproduction.  A lot of what is peddled in the realm of cables is nonsense indeed.  Cryo treatments, hyper pure metal, various ways to align the conductors and insulation materials etc... Do they all make a difference?  Sure, but only minor deviations in the resultant experience and definitely not worth the money.  As it turns out, the original big High End cable companies were on to something that could significantly enhance the audio listening experience.  Ironically, they would become the whipping posts for most of the next gen cable companies that evolved and expanded following the newly tapped “Money Trail” that was discovered!  The only real significant ground being blazed today is in wireless or digital technology.  For me, MIT and Transparent cables still perform to a higher standard under most conditions in most systems.  Of course, as is the case with Homo Sapiens, your perspective may vary.

Point blank the ones that say they can’t hear the difference don’t usually have resolving systems and don’t try upper market cables. What they call great sound is just ok sound to most of us with highly resolving systems

Is the air thin up there?

For budget minded folks in these uncertain economic times there are many ways to improve the performance of what you already have. Check for directionality, send cables/power cords to cryo lab or freeze two days in home freezer, apply PWB Cream Electret (free on request from PWB - hel-loo!) to cables, clean and apply contact enhancer like the new Graphene stuff, suspend cables and cords to avoid seismic vibration and static electric fields. You are the creator! Create a Giant Killer!