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


Curious as to what people think is the most critical cable in a system, i.e. the one that has the most impact on the overall sound. Is it interconnects, speaker cables, digital, power cables? Of course there's synergy and everything matters, but which cable makes its presence known the most?
joc3021
This is a common topic in these forums, and one with no absolute answer. You may want to search the archives.

Cheers,
John
Alright, I give it a shot......
Each individual cable in 3 groups (IC, Spkr Cable, and P/C) has a unique character, but yet, they still stay within their own group.
A little confused? The closest way to explain myself out of this one is to allow me to exaggerate it a little. But it is, some what, still equivalent and related to my examples. Let’s imagine your:

1/ IC is your source (CD, DVD, Turnable, etc).
2/ Power cord is your listening room.
3/ Speaker cable is your set of speaker.

1/ Changing your IC is almost equivalent to changing your CDP from England’s sound (Rega, Arcam) to, say, Japanese’s /American’s sound (Krell, Denon, Marantz.). Remember, I exaggerated. So, if you take your CDP to your fiend's and play it with his speakers, the character of your CDP will still recognizable.

2/ Changing your power cord is like reshaping your entire listening room, adding /removing acoustic foam, windows, doors, etc. Though, the character of your source is still there but a P/C can shift your entire system sounds like you put your whole system in a diff room. Again, I exaggerated.

3/ Changing ur speaker cables is more like moving your set of speaker around within a room or re toe-ing, tilting, etc. to get a better soundstage, tonal, dynamic, disappearance, and clarity. Yet, the character of your CDP and the room's acoustic remains unchange.

In my past experience with cables of all 3 groups, the IC resulted in changing character of MY SYSTEM the most. But since we all have diff electronics and experience with diff name brands cables, I’m most definitely sure that we all will get diff results.

Phew, this is harder to describe than I thought, but I hope you get the picture.

Keep us posted.
The best results will be to find the right cable between the pre-amp and the amp and the right wire between the amp and the speakers. Why? Because no matter which source you select, the signal will travel over this path. Next, find the right cable from your most frequently used to least frequently used source. Oh, and make sure your system is properly grounded: it's far more important that which cable or wire you use. See my system page for more information on grounding.

Finally, don't spend too much money on cables and wires as system components are far more important to the sound of your system. Cables and wire are like seasonings - they can enhance a meal, but never be the meal.
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.