I became aware of speaker cable differences when I bought better speakers (Vandersteen 1Bs in maybe 1991 or so)...before that I simply bought larger gauge for longer runs, such as for pro PA needs. Back then I found that some AQ sounded better than whatever I had before, and that lead me down a long road resulting in a "cable museum". Now I'm into solid core, and it's clear that the more revealing your gear is the more important good cable seems to be...or at least more obvious.
