WHY CABLES MATTER!

@kennyc   You rock man!

We need to separate discussion of speaker and interconnects, which if crap can and do sound different degrading the signal, with things like Ethernet cables and power cords which you may HEAR a difference, but it is impossible by the laws of physics that the actual SOUND is different.  Remember, sound is a real physical property. Hearing is what your brain tells you and it lies like a dog. Excluding defective cables and there are some out there. 

If what you hear is better to you, then better is great for you as you enjoy your system more. Just please don't try to convince others who may be happy with their system that some magic thousands of dollars in snake oil is a must and their system is garbage without it.  That is where the damage is. They could better use the money on better speakers ( the weak link in all systems).  Analog cables can only damage the signal, they can't improve it. You may like that damage. Just recognize that is what is happening. I like my MOSFET amp, some like their tubes. 

In the mean time, I am waiting for someone to demonstrate their exotic cable to beat a Belden 1800F for RCA's  or 5000UP for speakers in a domestic system. for accuracy.   Different does not mean better!   Better, for real, may just mean the cable you had was garbage, not the magic-crystal, micro-diode, voltage-biased shield with colored braid is any better than a "good" $9 cable.  Good: L and C balanced and reasonably low. Enough shielding for spurious RF, and correctly twisted pair to reduce any possible hum pickup.  Cables less than a meter, Belden 1505F is pretty hard to beat. Good does not mean expensive as I have heard and measured for real, boutique cables that were crap.  Length can make a difference. Some boutique cables may be fine at 1M with their high C, but 2M into a low Z input actually roll off the top. I have seen higher than 47p per foot!  That adds up compared to 1800f or 1505f!  In very long runs, geometry like "star quad" do work to the advantage over just a single pair or coax. Understood science. Not magic. 

Carried away with shielding?  Kimber, one of the companies with actual engineers, remains selling braided unshielded interconnects to balance their L and C.  Never heard of any RF or hum problem from them.   Proper science, not magic. 

Wire itself being directional?  Better look up what "AC" means.  Shielding can be terminated to be directional, but not the wire. Just plain not possible. 

Ethernet causing micro timing errors? "Air" "Weight" "Impact"  Not possible. Your interface retransmits it into a buffer.  That is the way it works.  Look it up. Actually, Ethernet reflection issues are more like 75 feet minimum but by the design of the layer One, it is totally irrelevant.  Level one of the IP stack, BITS ARE BITS.  Look it up, don't believe me. I don't care what some advertising sheet says was "empirically tested" . BS. They make an extraordinary claim like that, OK, let's see the data!  What your equipment does with those bits is a different matter. Not the cable.  There is no minimum spec on cables, though in the 10G realm, some have additional termination within the cable to keep the BER below 10 ee-13 reducing the need for re-transmit of errors. 

Still using synchronous mode over USB? Stop doing that and any noise and jitter caused by the cable is irrelevant. The DAC takes care of that. Newer ones, very well indeed. 

Power cable adding "weight" or "air"? I am not saying you don't hear it, I am saying it is not real sound as it is impossible in this universe. 

What you hear is up to you, it is when you cross over from the not well understood and maybe innovation, to the impossible, then I have an issue and will call it out.   When you claim the impossible, the producer of such magic are making an extraordinary claim and need to make extraordinary proof.  Not what you hear, as your brain is lying to you. They lie to all of us.  Music reproduction is all about convincing you that lie is real. 

Now I know, no one wants to hear they have been had. We are all humans and our lying brain does not like that and will jump though hoops denying that lie.  So be it.  Please just make the effort not to propagate the impossible and focus on the at least probable and more people can actually improve the real sound of their system. 

Here’s the problem.  When you can’t support an argument without using the term “Snake Oil” all credibility is gone.  A lack of experience and knowledge is poor support for theories based on denial.  Famous words from the lawyer that got O J Simpson acquitted:: “Deny, Deny, Deny”.

asctim It seems none of these manufacturers seem to know how to make a proper power cord for their electronics.

I’ve been saying "no cable company knows how to make audio and power cables properly except Wavetouch audio." The truth is in the performance of audio system. Wavetouch audio sounds closest to the original music in the world. Alex/Wavetouch

@tvrgeek

Your comments about stock Belden cables being hard to beat is interesting given all the theories, marketing hype, and exorbitant pricing for "audiophile" cables that either by measurement or listening tests have not been uniformly proven to provide significant (if even audible) sonic improvements. Belden cables (among other professional type cables) are mostly used to process the music we listen to and the equipment we use for playback includes many feet of mostly basic copper wire that is used in transformers, speaker voice coils, and other components.

Belden makes some compelling stock cables and I believe it would be interesting to listen to their bulk/stock cables compared to much more costly "audiophile" cables, assuming the Belden cables were similarly terminated.

For interconnects, the Belden 1800F you mentioned uses foamed Polyethylene insulation and braided copper shielding, and should perform well as an interconnect, either RCA or XLR. If this had been specifically designed for the audiophile market, it seems they might have used their High Conductivity Oxygen-Free Bare Copper (OFHC) wire instead of their Bare Copper (BC) wire, which I believe is tough pitch electrolytic copper (99.9+ percent pure copper at 100% IACS).

For speaker cables, instead of the 5000 series which uses PVC insulation, I would suggest the line of Belden speaker cables recommended by Galen Gareis for those who want a less expensive option to his Iconoclast cables. Those options all use OFHC copper and are insulated with foamed Polyethylene. The line includes the two conductor 1313A (10awg) and 1311A (12 awg), and the four conductor 1312A (12 awg) and 1310A (14 awg) cables, either of which can be constructed in a star-quad geometry resulting in aggregate gauges of 9 and 11 awg, respectively.

I find it interesting that Belden’s upscale Iconoclast line does not include power cables and instead they recommend cables from the Belden Audio/Video (BAV) line including Belden’s 19105, 19106 and 19107 stock cable (high-flex 10, 12 and 14 AWG BC conductors) with upgraded connectors.

I am too far down the road with cables to go back and buy/try the Belden cables discussed above but if I were starting over, knowing what I know now and having experienced what I have related to cables, I would definitely use the cables listed above and save my money for component and speaker upgrades where I have always heard much more significant differences and improvements than with cables.