What is Imaging?

Cables are known to have the least effect on systems...then amps...once again back to speakers for depth and imaging....but dealers/consultants love to push hi end cables...huge mark up...then ofcourse one had to bi-wire...then bi-amp, etc

I do not agree. Some cables are that good that they have a very big influence. Since 2002 I use blind auditions to show to people how much they can do. For example source of 2000 euro with powercable of 2600 euro. Compared to source of 5000 euro with powercable of 100 euro. Or amp from 5000 euro with powercable of 100 euro. And amp of 2500 euro withj powercable of 2600 euro. You can spend your money one time. I want people to get the best quality for the money.

This weekend I was at a client with Wadia 381, Spectral poweramp, Audio Research 5SE and Isophon Cassiano. With MIT interconnects and MIT powercables there was a very vague focus with a little depth, low freq. were not tight and also the different layers were not there. By using Purist Powercables and Audioquest silver intrconnects the whole sound went to a much higher level. More depth, the image was so much more touchable and more 3-D. Decay was superior to the MIT cables.

Without the best cables you still miss the quality in imaging you can get with highend speakers, amps and sources with good cables.

I know that some people disparage the value of imaging because you don't get imaging and sound staging effects at a live concert. But if the recording engineer deliberately manipulated or recorded or mixed the music so to create a sense of location of instruments/voices and an expansive soundstage, then I want my rig to reproduce that. Its' one of the great pleasures of good home audio in my book.

You are fully right!!

I'm siting here listening to Copelands Symphony Number 3 on my Magnepans. This is imaging.