Which cable has most impact - IC, Spkr., power?

answer this question yourself. try listening to a bunch of interconnects and observe the differences. do the same with speaker cables and power cords.

there is no definitive answer, but you can empirically determine the affects using your own stereo system as the laboratory.

do you have a hypothesis ?

by the way, many questions posed in threads can be answered by the originator of the thread. it is usually not necessary to rely on the opinions of others, when you can do your own research. there are many manufactures and other resources who can help, in lieu of relying on the unknown credentials of audiogon members.

I will suggest your power cords. Digital unit 1st, then the pre, finally the amp. Starting out with the least possible distortion will give you the best bang for your investment in my experience.

I agree with Nasaman....my experince the power cord`s and ic`s made the most difference. I usually keep my balanced interconnects between the amp and preamp and speaker cables the same. Changing the power cords and ic`s on my sacd/cd player gives the system a whole new character. Changing the amp power cord and TT ic`s have the same results.

I feel that interconnects are most critical, closely followed by speaker cables. Power cables are the least critical in my systems but I always start with a 20a dedicated circuit - sometimes multiple 20a dedicated circuits.

my 2 cents

happy listening!

...like I said, nowhere!

My experience is that everyone's components react differently to cabling, as is everyone's power quality. Never has YMMV been more true.