The role of signal cables in a high-end system is one of the most debated topics in audio. Some people insist cables are just wire and that anything beyond basic copper is snake oil. Others claim that swapping interconnects can transform a system. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in between.
A cable's job is simple: pass the signal from one component to another without adding noise, losing information, or introducing distortion. In a perfect world, the cable would be invisible—no resistance, no capacitance, no inductance, just a transparent connection. But in the real world, every cable is a transmission line with its own electrical characteristics, and those characteristics interact with the output impedance of the source and the input impedance of the destination.
Cables can never add to the signal. They can only selectively subtract. So, if we say an interconnect is bright, we mean it has lost some of the bottom end (as opposed to adding a bit of tiz).
Interconnects matter most when you're dealing with high-impedance connections or long cable runs. A poorly designed cable can act like an antenna, picking up RF interference from nearby electronics or even radio stations. It can also form a high-frequency filter if the capacitance is too high, rolling off the top end in a way that makes the music sound dull or closed in.
Speaker cables face different challenges. They're carrying much higher currents than interconnects, and the resistance of the cable can actually affect the damping factor between the amplifier and the speaker. A cable with too much resistance will let the woofer ring longer than it should, making the bass sound loose or bloated. Inductance and capacitance matter too, especially with speakers that have complex impedance curves.
In a system with resolving components, swapping cables changes the tonal balance, the sense of space, and even the perceived speed of the music. The changes range from dramatic to subtle, but they're real.
And here's the thing: you don't have to spend a fortune. A well-designed cable at a reasonable price will often outperform an exotic design that's poorly implemented.
Trust your ears, not the marketing.
