Need a very neutral interconnect-

"I hear people talk about "the blacks" but am clueless what that means."

Its a combination of a very clean top end and a wide dynamic range. All the components in a system contribute to it, and having a good recording also helps.

You are right that there are different ways to imporive it!

Zd it seems your definition and Bo's are a bit at odds, I guess this just adds to the confusion. Bo seems to be saying, and I certainly get this point, that it allows us to hear greater separation of voice and instruments, a greater palpaple sense of their place in the recording which would certainly contribute to a more dimensional illusion providing it's on the recording. Certainly I can hear this effect to a greater degree by changing to a better ic and speaker cable. Your description is a bit more focused on dynamic range and a clean top end, could you explain a bit what you mean in how it relates to "blacks" or as Bo describes separating instruments rather than the sound being more congealed?

For the most part I think many probably the vast majority of cables are purposely designed to sound a specific way in line with what the designer likes that probably have little to do with neutrality. So far as the neutrality of cables, it seems the ones I like best have smaller conducters. I don't want a "warmer, richer" sound but more accurate and natural presentation of the recording. You can't know which one is best for your application without listening to many. The best I've heard to date that offer a coherency and separation and more realistic tonal rendition of instruments and voices are the Omega Micro line particularly when used as a system. Unfortunately they are fragile and as you move up the line, thinner ribbons and less dialectric, they get more expensive but better still, the less is more approach and it is clearly audible even to cynics. THESE are very natural and have the effect in a system of a major component upgrade, at least the 4 systems I've heard them in.

So now I'm NOT an idiot? So confusing...anyway...None of the "high end" salons in my Near Boston area had a din cable to fit my Akito arm. Lame but true. The Jelco cable looked great (Ebay) and has a well made gold din plug, nice gold RCAs, and says "Neglex 2434" on its pink (!) skin...it seems to be able to get electrons from my table to the preamp in decent shape, and if a much more expensive cable would do a better job of this I will never know because I'm perfectly happy with this one. Maybe I AM an idiot.