Ready, set, comment! Speaker cables don’t make a difference?

I was told by Audio Research about 3-4 yrs ago don`t spend money on exotic cables by a better piece of equipment then you`ll hear a difference in your system which make since.   We here at the ARC factory he stated use a set of modest $500.00 speaker cables, he wasn`t an sales person trying to sell me anything I was calling to solve an issue and cables just worked its way into the conversation I ended up with a set of $375.00. Blue jean speaker cables and I am absolutely satisfied.  I recently departed with my ARC LS22 preamp and purchased a better piece of equipment;  the Blue jean cables are still in  the system working the hell out of my 3.6 maggies  the new to me Pass Lab XP30 Peamp and the XP350 Pass power amp. and they arn`t missing a beat  HALLELUJAH !!!

Some don't give a rat's patooey. Where is spell check when you really need it?

The correct spelling is 'patootie'.
Finally after two pages we all learned something!

The story about ARC and their cables used at the factory is a good example of what I have been saying for years, that even industry members/entities are ignorant (or, have a vastly different set of priorities than the audiophile) of the importance of cables. Obviously it is to their advantage that the consumer buys their components versus cables. Frankly, most of the systems I have seen at manufacturers' factories are pathetic. As an audiophile, I would be embarrassed to show setups like that. Often the cables are sad, nowhere near optimized. Sadly, with a poor methodology such as the typical mixing of cables, without a clue what a baseline sound might me, the performance of the component will not be optimized - regardless how wonderful the owner thinks it is.   :(

IOW, shridanmartinj, you still have plenty of upside to your system's performance if you have never worked seriously with cables. As you mentioned Blue Jeans cables and have some nice kit in terms of the Pass components, I direct your attention to my latest review of the Iconoclast cables at Dagogo.com. Do not doubt for a moment that you can have far better sound than currently simply by switching out your cable set. It is a travesty for an audiophile with the means to settle on budget cables and squander the truly wondrous performance of the equipment. In this particular case, there is a consistency involved, as Iconoclast cables are sold through Blue Jeans and they are kindred designs. You have the ideal situation to prove to yourself that I am correct, and realize a truly stunning result. You are not there, you do not have a fully optimized system, if that is important to you.  

I see that you have Maggie 3.6, I believe. Trust me, these need all the help they can get with resolution. Simply because it is a panel speaker in no way means you have the best from them with less expensive cables and better components. I have owned, reviewed and use various panel speakers, and tell you that you have much more finesse to get out of those speakers than you are currently experiencing. I make changes to panel speakers regularly to improve their sound via cable sets. 

The misnomer continues to be circulated that components make a bigger difference in a system than cables. Of course that is true IF one considers only a particular cable, such as  set of ICs, but it is not true when considering the set of cables. Since most audiophiles do not work with sets, they have no clue about this. They speculate, gesticulate, agitate, etc. but they are uninformed. It's best not to listen to anyone who has not worked with comparison of sets of cables, be they manufacturer or fan. My guess is you will be wowed by ARC and think I am wrong. So be it; you pick your authority, you get your results.  

BTW, I advise the avoidance of cables with circuits in the signal path. I have yet to find one that did not mangle the signal as much as it was advertised to aid it. 

Being perfectly happy with basic cables like @sheridanmartinj is ... perfectly fine. It’s up to the hobbyists to decide how far they want to go with the hobby, and how many things (like cables, or other stuff) to try to optimize their system. It’s a hobby after all. It’s perfectly fine to try nothing. What it’s not fine IMO is going out and about in public proclaiming nothing makes a difference, and telling people what to buy and not buy, solely based on this very LACK of hands on experience. That is what many people do, and it baffles me

As long as there are people who get sucked into spending ridiculous money on speaker cables this topic will survive and it is only one such topic in audiophilia. Manufacturers appeal to lay instinct and generate myths by the dozens. Everyone would be best served by spending this money on better speakers, subwoofers and amplifiers. 

If you really want to get down with speaker wire read Waldo Nell's, "The Real Science Behind Speaker Wires." This Audioholics video is dumbed down quite a bit. It is however applicable to both two channel and theater people. I also agree with him on Kimber Kable. If you want the best speaker wire at a very reasonable price get together with some other philes and buy a 50 foot roll then split it up. You will have to terminate it yourself but that is not at all hard to do.