I think it most often happens with budget systems. This happened to me when I was just starting off. If you have high quality components, typically a better cable or interconnect will be more transparent and impart less of a tonal shift… so great interconnects just tend to improve things. But if you have doubled down on highly resolving a real transparent interconnect can tip you over. But if this happens, then you likely have component mismatchs. The mark of synergistic components is you want more transparency in the interconnects and this should be what you are getting by upgrading.
Are cable “upgrades” just as likely to make your system sound worse?
Many of us with highly resolving systems have found that speakers cables and interconnect cables can improve the sound quality of our systems. But are they also just as likely to do the opposite?
A few months ago, I “upgraded” to a renowned speaker cable, and immediately noticed more detail and resolution. I was so pleased I also “upgraded” the interconnects. But with more time I realized that the trade-off for more detail was a thinner sound with diminished tonal richness. Thus began a maddening series of attempts to fix the problem – different speaker cables, different DAC, different streamer, and now even a 30 trial of a new amplifier to try to overcome the thinness and find a more natural tone. It finally occurred to me to replace the out-of-sight-out-of-mind interconnects (with my original interconnects), and immediately the problem was blessedly solved.
Have others experienced this frustration? What recommendations do you have to avoid such fiascos?