Which Cable Makes the Biggest Impact?

To prioritize is not to appreciate that cabling and the system itself are part of a whole. One thing that my latest system building exercise has taught me (going on 9+ months now) is that it all matters; you can't properly appreciate any cable without the rest of the cables being up to the same level, not to mention the components and isolation.

There is no definitive answer as every system is different.

Too many variables such as quality of ac power, quality of component power supply, speaker/amplifier compatibility, the cables themselves, ad nauseum.

Reading the responses should be fun though.

Well Tony, I for one, agree with you. As much as it irritates me to admit it, I now believe that the power cord has the most influence on the sound, by a large margin. I fought the power cord concept for years, but after 5 years of experimenting, this is now the conclusion that I hold. Second is the interconnects, though followed more closely by the speaker cables.

So I'll also say:

1) Power cords
2) Interconnects
3) Speaker cables

Cheers,
John

I think it's where you use the cables first that matters.

1. Treat the source first with the best power cable and interconnect that suits it.
2. Then the power conditioner with the best power cable. 3. Than the preamp with the best interconnect and power cord that suits it.
4. Speaker cables are next.
5. Amplifier last with interconnect and power cord.

This is what I experienced in my system.

In my experiences with two separate systems (one analog-one digital HT), I found that power cords had the most sonic characteristics from cord to cord. In an effort to get close to neutrality, dedicated circuits & quality outlets made the most substantial improvement where I no longer use exotic P/C's as tone controls. Given this, I then give the nod of importance to I/C's and speaker. My belief is that the quality of the wire itself and the end connections are far more important than exotic cable geometries. YMMV as mine has.