Do you consider cables to be a "component" of your system?

Wait what ? So Mitch 2 in the time  since you started the “ usb cable play offs” thread back in 2016 and said “ in general I found the Totaldac usb cable to have excellent clarity, body, tone and energy while the  ifi Gemini cable leans more towards the dark side with a mix of richness, fullness and darkness while still displaying a sufficient level if detail” your views on cables have changed ? Excellent clarity, body, tone and energy?

@bikeboy52

Good call out. I have always maintained that different cables sound differently, and I did like the sound of that USB cable, at that time. I still own it but have been using the TWL split USB lately. As an example of different sounding cables, I have tried a lot of speaker cables and I am partial to the sound of multiple, individually insulated, small gauge, solid core, OCC copper wires, in foamed PE, i.e., Harmonic Technplogy speaker cables. While I hear differences in cables, IMO they have nowhere near the impact on the sound of a system as the components and speakers, and after trying a bunch of manufactured cables and making quite a few of my own, I believe a lot of the marketing hype related to cables sets unrealistic expectations with the intent of leading buyers onto a continual upgrade merry-go-round. However, I am also fine with others who want to spend their money on expensive cables - to each their own.

“Congratulations,your thought process about the importance of cables is exactly the outcome desired by the marketing department’s of audio cable manufacturers “just checked out your system ( beautiful btw ) what do they get for a cable cooker?maybe I’ll chug a little a that Kable Kool aid and get drunk enough to pop for one a those.

Thanks for the comments about my system.  It has been a journey, and certainly some missteps on the way to achieving what I am happy with.  Along the way I found that, for me and the music I like, it is mostly (but not entirely) about tone and dynamic impact so my current rig does those really well.  

I have done a fair amount of DIY, and particularly wrt making cables, and so I was an early adopter of the Cable Cooker just to be sure that I was hearing the cables I made at their best without waiting a month for them to burn in. Back then, cable burn in seemed to be a big deal (and still is to some extent) so having a cooker was a necessity for any “serious” cable builder.  I admit that I still use it - maybe the longest continuous run of any single part of my system - shout out to Alan Kafton!

Cables can be a tool to pinpoint weaknesses in your system. They can be more than a component - they can be a tool to perfect your setup.