Cable auditions - Hard Work?

Oldpet, I deleted it in a moment of deciding whether I wanted to get involved.

Bottom line: 1) your gear seems plenty resolving to me, 2) do you use any power conditioning?, 3) what is prompting you to want to audition cabling?

Paul, power conditioning is a difficult animal to explain, and one which must be experienced, IMO. But for me, it made a tangible difference in the resolution of my equipment. Why? Because whether we identify it or not, we all have grunge and hash in our systems, which is difficult to "hear" until it's gone. When it's gone, the system has the "blackness" folks speak of, and a quietness that makes the music more real. The hash that power conditioning cleans up results in better resolution of micro details because there's less noise to compete with the aural cues of things like wire brushes on a coated drum head. With the noise gone, one can hear this distinctly, instead of it sounding a little mushy. With the system hash gone, the benefits of cabling changes become easier to hear, IMO.

So, I suppose I'd suggest power conditioning before you start swapping wire.

I use a simple system of two dedicated lines, two Hydra 2 power conditioners, and two good 20a power cords to feed the Hydras.

If your post is the past in the thread, you often have an option to delete your post by clicking on the "edit you post" feature.

If your post is the past in the thread

That "edit your post" feature seems to suddenly be gone...poof!

That sentence should read. "If you post is the LAST in the thread".

I think a tube amp system would be really nice for 'relaxing' around the house, with their 'euphonic' type for sound that they're famous for. But, for more serious listening, I prefer a more natural, or un-emphasised, sonic picture in front of me.

This is a stereotypical point of view of tube amps. Come hear my VAC Phi 110/110 and that stereotype will be forever dispelled.

I can understand your sonic preference. It's mine, too. You are doing yourself a disservice, however, by dismissing all tube amps out of hand.

Yes, the Phi 110/110 is current production. www.vac-amps.com

However, this does not answer your question about listening to cables. I believe you need to identify a few tracks that you know well, and listen to them with different wire in your system. Then, you'll be able to identify differences in tonal characteristics converyed by the wire based on specific aural cues in the music.

However, I also believe shopping for wire before you have addressed your power is putting the cart before the horse.