Speaker cables from same brand as interconnects?

Great points JD. Obviously, the amount of time and money that you've spent with your own endeavors has been a great lesson in this area. It is hard to beat first hand experience, especially when that experience has been well documented and thoroughly disected : )

That's was a great analogy by Tvad too. With that in mind, having the science behind why certain elements act and respond to each other as they do reduces the amount of "alchemy" or "magic" required to make a great product or achieve system synergy. The end result is a predictable outcome, greater consistency and a more universal product.

Having said that, there's always a bit of magic / guesswork involved with audio, as there are just too many variables to take into account of in certain situations and installations. This is why trial and error still exists, and probably always will. That is, for the people that just aren't willing to settle for sheer convenience. We really are a "nit-picking" bunch when it comes down to it : ) Sean
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Always use the same interconnects and speaker wire.

No that's not right, it's power cords and speaker wire.

Hold on, I think it's digital cable and interconnects.

No no, it must be power cords, speaker wire, and digital.

Unless of course it's digital and speaker wire. No, that can't be right.

Perhaps it's speaker wire, interconnects, and power cords.

The hell with it. Use what sounds best to you.

I am always thinking that thereis no relation between chords and price.But I do believe that one can mix and match (you have different elements makling up different components right).But a rule of themb I have followed,not knopwing if it's valid,is that if you use same chords because they have characteristics you like (say Cardas which has sofetened up equipment that is meattlic or "etched" like Krell) but that one should use the better (i.e. more expensive in the line if using the same products) closer to the source component.Wonder if i have any "Amens" to this approach.My ultimate wiosh given there are so many choices is to have an objective and subjective lsiting of of products in overall performance and like Consumer Reports does an overall point rating that factors in price to it's final score.It's so much easier to put together a list of compoinets that have been reviewed and have multiple reviews ("professional" and consumer) where the same name comes up.A good expample of this would be the new Parasound JC1 amp.Enough reviewers gave it thumbs up that one could put it on a short list to audition.But cables still have too much hype and mystery associated with them forouir own good.I know this digresses but I come down that you feel some satisfaction knowing you have a one brand sound but tis is not a logical way to look at issue.The question I have is aboiut better wire being closer to source than downstream (????????).And my my shootout is proably a pipedream.Even Stereophile which lists too many componenst asnd thus does not sepreate the what from the chaffe won't even list cables innterms of quality.But one can hope that some cream will rise to the top and thast we can find values in such a list to boot.
Chazzbo

Chazzbo - your idea has very little merit. Cable shootouts only produce valuable results IF:
- you happen to have the same components as the reviewer(s)
- you happen to share the same listening preferences (acoustical presentation) as the reviewer(s)
- you happen to have the same room acoustics as the reviewer(s)
- you happen to share the same taste in music as the reviewer(s)

Otherwise what you "wish" would happen is a waste of time for all concerned. I would rather wish that someone would come up with a set of measurements/electrical characteristics that might HELP in determining how a particular cable might sound, BUT - this has yet to happen with components, so I am not holding my breath.

Back to the thread at hand - I have the luxury of being able to test an almost endless array of cables in my system in a controlled manner, so my cables are matched to the system rather than each other. This works great for ME, but is probably not the best approach for everyone else ( that doesn't have the access to so many cables to test). SOME cables are best when used throughout like Virtual Dynamics, JPS Labs, MIT, Transparent, and a few others that slip my mind at the moment. The basic rule of thumb is to stay with cables that have the same relative transfer speed, ie - do not mix silver and copper signal cables in the same system. Use your ears as the guideline, and try as many cables as you can before making any purchase decisions. Have FUN!