How important is it that all cables come from the same manufacturer?

"Asked another way: Do electrons know or care what is printed on the outer PVC jacket?"

I think that it is possible that they may care what is underneath the jacket.

A gentleman who sells expensive NOS tubes (but does not sell cables) once told me this (simplified):

if  interconnects from the source/front end to the preamp do one sonic task excellently but fall short on the second sonic task

are matched with interconnects from the preamp to the amp that do the second sonic task excellently but fall short on the first sonic task,

they cancel out what each does excellently.

Starting with the same cables can give one a better base line. After that, some components will interact with different cables better than others. 

Asked another way: Do electrons know or care what is printed on the outer PVC jacket?

Signal and power cables have very different technical requirements in terms of frequency spectrum (digital!!), resistance and impedance as well as power transmission. I fail to see why any one manufacturer would have a consistent advantage given different characteristics of the various components (of different manufacturers and In- and output characteristics) of a system. That manufacturers claim advantages is purely down to vested interest

Thanks to all for your great responses.  I have found some excellent and fairly new to market cables that will probably be the majority of my system, but not 100%.  Purchased their power cords and a balanced XLR … immediate sonic improvement over a mix of more expensive cables they replaced.   Also upgraded my Ethernet cable, another immediate improvement.  All is good.  Thanks to all.

Thanks to all for your great responses.  I have found some excellent and fairly new to market cables that will probably be the majority of my system, but not 100%.  Purchased their power cords and a balanced XLR … immediate sonic improvement over a mix of more expensive cables they replaced.   Also upgraded my Ethernet cable, another immediate improvement.  All is good.  Thanks to all.

Acoustic Zen, Harmonic technology and Neotech is OCC single crystal wire which is the best wire for audio that has been proven for over 40 years and it's not crazy expensive like other companies like audioquest and others that sell OCC crystal wire for very crazy prices, it's all the same wire made by only three manufacturers two in Japan and one in Taiwan, the wire from Taiwan is much cheaper to buy than the Japanese OCC wire and it's all the same quality because it's the same process to make it.

@secretguy   😄😄😄🤣

I like all my 60 cycle hums to match.

     PCs: Five Zu Mothers (preamp, phono pre, CDP and two tubed main amps), Zu Bok (TT to SDS), two Synergistic Master Couplers (SS subwoofer amp and power purifier/distribution, both direct to AC outlets)

     Interconnects: two SR Tesla Apex (mains), Kimber Select (KS1030s on phono pre and KS1130s on CDP), SR Tricon Analog (TT)

     Speaker cable: Analysis Plus, Big Silver Oval (mains), Kimber 8TC (subs)

     The above were all cycled through, with a wide variety of Wireworld, Audio Magic, Cardas and Audioquest offerings, over the years, for comparison and found to deliver the least colored and most open presentation (sound stage/ambience retrieval), in my system/room and to my ears.

     Two 120’, twisted runs of  Southwire 10/2 AWG, SIMpull Romex (likewise: USA made), from the main breaker box, to the AC outlets.

                           NOPE (matching makes no difference, to me)!

sometimes it's simply how much time we want to spend buying/selling/shipping and listening to different cables...there are so many good brands and models out there...

The OCD in me loves having everything match, but that is just aesthetics.     

In practical terms I am not sure it matters at all.

I was a real mix and match guy, now not so sure, Had a Cardas Golden Presence in a Golden Reference signal chain, and swapping to a Reference gave me far more of an improvement than I would hear If I A/B’d these two in system consisting of foreign cabling.

Quite unexpected, as these two cables are very similar, with only minor changes to shielding and construction

It might matter if all the equipment was made by the same manufacturer of the same vintage.

But by having equipment from various sources, I have found that each piece has its own needs and different cables sound different on different equipment.

ozzy

Not important to me.

I love to mix. Much more fun. Actually not just in audio. Cable-wise I prefer the best effort from small guys to entry or mid level from big guys.

You can mix brands or different lines within the sane brand.
Tweak the sound to your liking. if you find a cable that made a jaw dropping difference you can try full loom of that brand/line. But…it doesn’t always work. Could become too much of a good thing. All depends on system, room and what you’re looking for.

I am totally mixed and matched here no two cables are the same and everything sounds great.

The better your system the more important it becomes, IMHO.

I am 60/40

60% Signal Cable 40% Cardas Audio

Some argue that a Loom (all one brand) is best and you have continuity across your system.'

I say meh.

I have tried many different combinations. In general, different are absolutely fine. I have been fortunate enough to have components that are perfectly neutral, matched and exactly this is what I want to have come out, so as transparent as possible. So Transparent brand are perfect. a full weave of these is perfect and complimentary. However, even with this. I found a Cardas power cord was better for the amp.

Ideally your components are complementary. Because if you add a first interconnect that attenuates the highs a bit, then the second attenuates the bass a bit. Now as you go through you may be balancing the sound but reducing the detail.

See, told ya!😁

not

I like to mix and match. However,there are some folks that love a certain house sound,and that’s what they like. I don’t think there is a wrong answer. Do what floats your sonic boat. 

Zero reason why one needs to go all one brand for cables 

If there’s a manufacturer who seems plugged into ur brain, go for it. But, I think once you trust your own ears it’s perfectly fine to mix n match. It all comes down to personal preference and system synergy. That takes experimentation and and trial n error. No one can advise u on that except you.  Me?  Acoustic Zen just sounds right without spending mega bucks.  But, I use an Apogee Wyde Eye digital cable because it seems to exhibit the same sound characteristics as my other AZ cables at a fraction of the cost. So, case in point.  Best of luck. 

Zero. Use the cable you need. it doesn't matter where it comes from.

There are more than a few here who mix cables for perception of better sound.