gentlemen:
i think the concepts of warmth and transparency are being misinterpreted.
warmth is a frequency response phenomenon. it affects transparency. if a component has a frequency response which has a bump in the range of 100 to say 250 hz and, at the same time, a dip in the range say, 3000 hz on up, there will be a loss of transparency.
now let us say there are two cables--a and b. if a is well balanced, clear and relatively uncolored, the warmth of the system will be heard. such a system with cable a would not be considered transparent. now suppose cable b is euphonically colored, emphasizing the lower frequencies and again attenuated in the treble. cable b will create a presentation that might be considered dark and warmer than what you would hear with cable a. thus a cable that is not transparent could add warmth to a system that is already warmth, making it warmer.
i will now anticipate what you might say. suppose cable b is unbalanced, with an emphasis in the treble and a dip in the lower midrange. the resulting presentation would be less warm than the system would sound with cable a, but still, the sound of the stereo system may not be transparent.
so your point that a transparent cable with warm components = a warm sounding stereo system may be true as long as the transparent cable doesn't have other problems.
my original point was that a cable can not be both warm and transparent. would you agree to that ?
so, when describing the sound of a cable, it is either warm, transparent, bright or some other adjective. if it is essentially transparent, it should not affect the sound of the other components, other things being equal.
i'm sorry to write so much, but don, you know i have been looking for warm components and warm cable, for my own personal listening. there are very few components in production which are warm. most tend towards transparent, with minor frquency response imbalances.
