Simple question, or is it...

It sounds like when the signal is broken down into it's constituent parts and analyzed separately is when all the head scratching occurs.

You have fields which, by their very definition, don't move. You have waves that are the result of something moving, or you wouldn't have the wave. That something is moving much faster than the wave (or it wouldn't be a wave, unless it's a poor analogy).

Then you have the conveyance (the wire) to ponder. The field is generated around the conveyance and the wave is residing in that field and both act on the wire and different metallurgy reacts differently to them.

Inside that conveyance resides even more constituent components. Electrons that move so slowly that they can be eliminated as the signal carrier, but can have a contribution. A form of current (power) that's part of the signal (something has to propel it). The physical make up of the covering of the wire (dielectric) which imparts it's own negative contributions due to it's interference. 

With all of that in mind, I'll just trust my ears and leave pondering the imponderables to others. 😄

All the best,
Nonoise

Not only the metallurgy of a wire produce different results but adding minerals of different kind on the connectors or all along the electrical grid disturb or improve audio signals...This is my experience...

Good point! What specifically do you think the crystals/minerals are affecting? Just curious. You’ve had a lot of experience. You must have some ideas, yes? Same question for the metallurgy. 

Getting colder.... 🥶