Are cable “upgrades” just as likely to make your system sound worse?

Most music, not all, is about frequency range. The hardest part is bass. Our ears are pretty attuned at locality and direction, even of very low tones far away. Our rooms are tricky to get bass to sound right. Personally it took years of fiddling, plus two subwoofers.  But when it works it’s hi fi. My cables are just ones used in studios from Amazon for 20 bucks or whatever since the system is balanced. The speaker cables are short and monoblocks keep them that way. With proper bass setup, I tried the top of the line nordost amongst others and they only remove bass. Now that can be a positive if your room or setup doesn’t have accurate bass. But why bother? Fix the bass, it’s worth it.  

While there is no question cables can make a difference, the current commercial cable market is nothing less than pure alchemy. Until consumers, equipment reviewers and dealers push for some objective standards and information it is a shell game. Every other type of audio equipment sold publishes standards such as s/n ratio, etc. but not the cable industry. It boggles my mind that someone is willing to spend thousands on what amounts to a black box. Yes, of course, amp, speaker, and turntable specs do not tell us how a particular piece of equipment will sound to an individual user but specs can help narrow the choices and differentiate between levels of sophistication, but not so with cables. The infamous test many years ago when Absolute Sound compared Home Depot extension cords with big bucks cables remains an eye opener. They wouldn’t do that today because the cable manufacturers who advertise would pull their ads. 

Great example of how it is strongly dependent on your equipment. I had the privilege of auditioning a pair of Odin 2 in my system and they were the most amazing, musical, natural and detailed cables I have ever heard.

As did I.  Great cables for big bucks.  And again, in my system, they favored detail over musicality.

Almost everything you do in this hobby results in a tradeoff of some sort or another. I believe this is one the reasons that relying on equipment and cable, etc. reviews and moving forward based on those reviews doesn't always produce results that are pleasing to us. Suggesting that buying only things that can be returned is one answer but that doesn't deal with the circumstance  where you don't fully realize what the tradeoff was and whether you are pleased with that tradeoff for a period of time. Return policies always have limits and you may not realize what the tradeoff was until it is too later to return the item(s), Often I will seek what I think will be an improvement only to discover that the only thing I did was change the sound but that the change is only that and actually not an improvement at all. Can keep you on your toes. 

.. Let me offer a different perspective: Most people assume that when they hear a difference from the new, typically madly expensive cable... it must be an improvement! The expectation of something better, can wire the brain into some serious placebo territory that I think it is important to be aware of.  A difference does not necessarily equal "better". 

IMO, all good things start with the room, meaning that spending equivalent money on acoustics (or buttering up that partner for better speaker placement and the like) is more likely to really improve sound in a big way 😁

Would you spend money on cables in a room like this?:

https://youtube.com/shorts/iKnRtD3JR28?feature=share

Cables matched to components ? What are you talking about ? The best RCA cables that I have sound best with everything I tried them with, both tube and SS, both analogue and digital, anywhere. Now that's the cables. And they are both musical and detailed, as usually defined by audiophiles. Not exactly the same situation but close to it with the best power cord that I have. Unfortunately, those my best RCA cables are $2700 pair new. Of course, I am not out of my mind yet to pay that for any cable, Still, I paid a lot for the used as well. I took a risk and guessed it right.

Where's the OP?

Gave up?

Definitely. I used Audience Ohno cables because they were excellent and relatively cheap compared to some. I recently had the opportunity to upgrade at a better Audience cable. Because of a good deal, I purchased Studio Two cables, next up the line. I heard a definite improvement. Onward up I tried Studio Ones and yet again an improvement. It's real. I have been doing this too long to fool myself. Used to make cables etc. Do it. However get cables you can audition or buy used at a good price. 

I bought a pair of 15 A Martin Logan‘s.  I thought they had a nice soundstage. However, I knew they were missing something. In the end, I bought a pair of Wilson, Alexia twos and moved the Martin Logan’s to my rear.   The Wilson’s were the finest speakers I ever had. It wasn’t even close.

Are cable “upgrades” just as likely to make your system sound worse?

If a Cable Upgrade is specifically categorised by increasing the Purchase Value (a method commonly adopted) for the Cable, there is a very strong likelihood that certain selections will be perceived as being a unattractive experience and unwanted.

My experiences are based on my being in attendance at Bake Off's with both Interconnect and Speaker Cables being used as Demo' Cables on a few different systems.

This experience has shown that certain Cables and more commonly certain Cables with a particular type of Silver Wire as the Signal Path, can have the Purchase Value that is most expensive, or close to most expensive. The experiencing of such Cables has been terminated quite quickly, where the idea of furthering usage has been immediately repelled as an idea, as a unanimous want from a Group in attendance to receive the demo's.

I'm not a Silverphobe, in the same experiences Silver Wire Cables proved to be the Cable of choice by the owners of the system, which is a choice I totally agree with. As time has evolved some other system owners have adopted for a interface the same Brand Cables with the same Silver Wire. 

I am a advocate of PC Triple C Wire as a Signal Wire and a Power Supply.

I am well aware for my own system, I can purchase/loan Cable with a much more expensive purchase value that those that I have incurred. When comparing the other Cable to the PC Triple C design, I am without doubt, it will be quickly detected that the PC Triple C stands out in front as the better option. 

I can also reassure others that my introducing some others who are Silverphobes to PC Triple C, the outcome has been encouraging enough to have them rethink their Cables and abandon/sell on Cables that have been much expensive to Purchase than that which a PC Triple C will cost.      

This....

Now granted, this might be a bit extreme but I do agree with the premise that there is no difference to the human ear. Someone mentioned 100 hours to break in speaker wire...BREAK IN WIRE? The simple reason is that your ears were broken in after the 100 hours. You forgot how they sounded 100 hours ago and now accept them for what they are.

Come on now. Are you having a laugh?

coppy777 - How did you know I was using Nordost cables? You've described what I've heard very well. They are too bright, and I've learned that detail isn't everything -- especially not musical.