What do audiophiles want from a cable?


What should a high quality interconnect or speaker cable do to the sound of a system? Make it more transparent? Improve the sound stage and focus? Soften unpleasant highs? Tighten the base? Bring out the mids?

To me, a good cable should reveal more of what is on the recording and more of the true nature of my components. So when trying new cables, I look for more detail and accuracy without becoming cold and clinical. This seems logical, and yet after reading reviews and trying a few of the cables in the reviews, I find that the cables that have received glowing endorsements are not especially transparent or revealing. They modify the sound, but they don’t take me where I want to go. I wonder if the reason I don’t hear what the reviewer heard is that I don’t know what to listen for. Am I too focused on cable accuracy and resolution, and not enough on actual sound quality? Or is it just a case of no two systems sounding alike so why trust a review anyway? Thanks.
mward
I use the "eq" on my MA7000.  A better way to describe it is a series of controls that provide me with up to 12db of boost or cut at 5 frequencies know to cause room anomalies(nasties).  I use it to tune my room.  Yes my listening room.  That is how it was intended to be used I believe.  You see there is a spike at 1500hz in here caused by I don't know what.  I knock it down about 2-3db and perfecto!  Good sound.

@yoby I have two pair of the Jade cables.  They are awesome, no doubt about it.  The move to an integrated made them available.  Are you interested?

Randy did you attempt to bring freaking POLITICS into a cable thread on an AUDIO forum.....?   There is a forum for that I'm sure and I bet they looooove to argue over there.  I'm sorry man but that's just wrong.  God help us all.

Thank you onelove for your comments regarding AZ Satori!  Sounds favorable and the more I read on Agon, the more it seems these may be some of the most highly praised speaker cables on this forum.  Most seem to love them.  I hope they will be wonderful, but I have not gotten to burn them in yet.  During initial hookup I broke one of the banana connectors on the amp end(7ga).  Now typically I would re terminate these babies myself, but after closer inspection and considering possible future resale, I sent them to Mr. Robert Lee for some new Furutech spades.  So Satori Shotgun will be back to me in a few weeks good as new, and I'll give my impressions to add to all the others.  

Watch out McGrogan, the dawgs are howling again!  And I'm not talking about UGA football.  Carry on with the madness please.
Where are you Budburma?  Hopefully somewhere "hearing the humanity" in front of the Opera Callas.  OR maybe on top of a Catskill peak barking at the moon.  Either way...We need your input here, and I need more of your impressions of Sablon Panetela and the Western Electric 16ga wire that I have loved in the past with vintage McIntosh toooooob gear.  Btw, I saw where the Dueland guy has made a copy wrapped in cotton, soaked in mineral oil, and then baked in an oven....no joke lol.  

I think you're onto something here chrisr, because that is exactly what she said.

Yea thanks maybe something really big I know, but I just don't get the use of liquid in cables as discussed above,other than maybe for having an additional layer of control over photons' energy? I have always thought that electrons traveling down a pvc-covered  (or PE) wire could not be struck by a single photon and even if they did, the photon(s) frequency could not be high enough to change electrons' kinetic energy, not to mention eject a single one from the copper. The work function is totally insufficient in this case imo.