Here's a link to a study done back in 1967 by a person who ran tests for a US Navy contract to determine the best type of connector for cabling in a submarine. With limited resources at sea, results had to be repeatable and reliable.
Things have greatly improved since then but the concept of no connector, or at best, the least amount of connector material interfering with a cable still plays a hand in what we hear. It's why I use Darwin Cables as it's what they've determined as well.
All the best,
Nonoise