Componets first, cables second?

Tennis - excellent response - says nothing, yet appears to have some deep thought process, while managing to degrade all those who tried to help and address the question. You must have some experience as an academic. Bravo.

Shadorne +++ The absence of a well-accepted, plain, practical engineering-type explanation of the how and why a more expensive piece of wire should work much better in audio than an appropriate (but ordinary) piece of wire raises too many questions for my liking +++

There are a myriad of perfectly rational and sound reasons why one particular cable will work better than another. Since different cables all have measurable capacitance, inductance, reactance and have different levels of screening, it is not possible for said cables not to affect the signals the pass along in very different ways. (If you ever bother to build an amplifier with point-to-point wiring you would be very aware of this.)

I am somewhat perplexed that you are eluding there are an absence of factual explanations. You would not if you had done even the most basic research.

+++ The argument also happens to be a marketing dream because the logic says that you simply don't hear as much cable differences with "unresolving" gear. +++

This happens to be patently true.

Regards
Paul

"+++ The argument also happens to be a marketing dream because the logic says that you simply don't hear as much cable differences with "unresolving" gear. +++

This happens to be patently true. "

It's also the crutch that many use to try to justify something in this hobby, making such a statement whenever their real or imagined contentions are questioned. The old emperors clothes position.

There are a myriad of perfectly rational and sound reasons why one particular cable will work better than another.

I would like to see this myriad of explanations and data to prove it. Perhaps I live in a hole and have missed it.

From down here in my hole, it appears that for analog audio applications (at audio frequencies), wire capacitance and inductance are generally regarded as being so small as to be unimportant and can be ignored. Resistance only barely begins to become a factor at greater lengths, such as extremely long runs of thin speaker cable. Simply put, the wire characteristics pale in comparison to active elements in the speaker crossover and acoustic transducers; furthermore, most electronics is designed to be insensitive to these small variations in typical wire parameters.

Ok, so let's assume for a moment it is true that "there are a myriad of perfectly rational and sound reasons why one particular cable will work better than another." Surely this would make wire so crucial that equipment manufacturers would publish formulas or guidelines for calculating the correct length and type cable necessary for each type of component being connected. (such as recommended precise amounts of capacitance, inductance, or reactance ...just like a cook book which recommends precise guidelines for each seasoning). The absence of strict well accepted guidelines suggests that either;

A) Manufacturers and equipment design engineers are irresponsible and just don't care about the final sound of their gear.

or

B) It is just not true that cables matter to any significant degree. By significant, meaning so as to make it actually worthwhile for the majority of high end manufacturers to issue more precise guidelines than the very basic broad guidelines that exist today (well shielded in some cases, appropriate AWG etc.)

hi snofun3:

perhaps, in your infinite wisdom, you can enlighten me why such a thread is useful.

also, perhaps you can state why other people's opinions are more valuable than one's own experience.

i stand by my statement. if one auditions combinations of cables and say a cd player, one can answer the question posed by this thread without having to request opinions.