Every component, including cabling will degrade the signal to some degree. NO component can “improve” the signal and the best we can hope for is that the component will degrade the signal as little as possible, Of course, how much any one component degrades the signal is not an absolute; electrical compatibility with the component that preceded as well that which followed will also be a factor.
EXACTLY!
NO cable can possibly improve your signal.
The goal is to compromise the signal's integrity as little as possible.
Think of cables as windows, between your components. Just a single dirty one, anywhere in your system, will result in a compromised reproduction of your music.