Which Cable Makes the Biggest Impact?

Sorry Davemitchell, I dont agree and I dont know what system you have heard. I have experimented with cheapo speaker, I/C's and power cables on average equipment and found the expensives ones from certain manufacturers are WAY better. I have also learned that average equipment can sound better that reference equipment with expensive cables in certain situations. That is my experience and to each their own. I'm happy with my findings and my system and that is all that matters to me. I find the most natural and transparent cables sound the best. i.e. Synergistic Tesla.

Ask your dealer to help you perform blind tests. See if they can keep quiet.

Davemitchell, good post. The Rat Shack cable test is a neat idea, I will try it when I can find a pal who wants to do it with me. I refuse to endure radical downgrades without company.

i agree completely with dave mitchell. although i have not done the radio shack wire test, i have done similar in concept.

using TA ultra SC and ICs as the basic SC+IC wire with esoteric ux-3se+vtl pre 6.5 + wilson w/p8 , i compared the following 2 setups for hours:

combo A-- excellent quality ICs in various combos -nordost valhalla, TA MM, TA XL with the TA ultra cables

combo B. replaced the TA ultra cables with all TA ref cables (the next level up) + all stock PCs!

the upshot :

combo A created an overall complete presentation, nicely polished, well balanced from top to bottom. very low floor noise and black background so stage placement was excellent

combo B has a very slightly less overall polished/finished wholeness to the presentaion and a less black background, a bit raw in direct compariso to combo A BUT combo B had greater timbral distinction, better micro dynamics even with the lesser black floor, deeper bass and extended highs, more openness, somewhat clearer transients and a greater sense of performance hall presence.

combo B allowed much greater presentaion of the pianist's nuanced performance; overall a more dynamic and engaging experience even though combo A presented a more self contained / "finished" presentation.

i liken A and B , oddly enough, to live performance experience .

combo A is like hearing an excellently performed piano recital with very few people in the audience ... but with the piano lid propped on the short stick.

combo B is hearing the same excellent piano recital with full audience and all the ambient noise that comes with the situation, however, for this recital, the piano lid is fully open (the long prop).

which situation has the greatest potential to communicate the full range of the performance?

PCs are surely critical to a complete any system presentation, but a banana split is still a recognizable "banana split" without the cherry (PCs) on top. however, without the whipped cream (SC) and fudge (ICs) its just and odd shaped bowl with 3 scoops and some fruit. now, isnt that a much better analogy than those car comparisons many like to do with speaker a/b's ? LOL.

I find it difficult to put any particular cable in order of preference. They each are a product of the sum being greater than the whole. My suggestion is to fine-tune your system with the best interconnects, power cords, and speaker cables that synergize best with all of your components. Don't skimp on any of them by placing greater importance on one over the other. Your system will sacrifice when any of the three cables are given less importance. A little analogy: Which is more important, your heart, your kidneys, or your liver? Well, you would die without all of them, so they are all equally important. I know, not a very good analogy, but you get my drift. P.S. Also, a 4th equally important item is your AC. Get the cleanest AC possible for your system, for no matter how good your power cords are, they need the cleanest and purist AC power to extract the best sound from your system.