Im going to regret my cable question

I’ve been a cable-aficionado for a long time.   In my experience, ’better’ speaker cables had an impact in my system, but the least impact in the overall SQ.  

OP

. . . but if we accept that “better” cables make a difference then that’s the improvement I’m looking for.

Not trying to be difficult but shouldn’t even that sort of upgrade improve things in general?

Improve things in general?   Improve things how?  Dynamics, tone, timbre, a fuller midrange, extension in the HF, extension in the LF, a blacker background, less distortion in the vocals . . . ?   

After many years of tweaking, my observations for improvement to the SQ in my system are in this order: (1) power conditioning (2) power cords (3) digital IC’s (4) analog IC’s (5) speaker cables.

OP

In the end I still think they will all pretty much be the same. I don’t really cater to the whole “wow, that totally changed my system” theory. I still think a lot of what we hear is based on the dollar sign.

You’ve established your confirmation bias.   Why waste money on something that you’ll regret?

Instead, treat yourself to a wonderful canoe camping trip in La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve in Québec. It’s spectacular!  A worthy investment for peace of mind. 

mikhailark

Ethernet cables are all the same though.

Not really.   The 1’s and 0’s are on an analog carrier which can be tweaked to affect the SQ.  Whether you hear the difference - or not - between cables depends on the resolution of the audio system.

@devinplombier   Another member stated it this way in this post.

>>>>The signal transferred on digital cables isn’t 1s and 0s. Also, the signal is an electromagnetic wave just like analog cables, therefore subject to the same causes of noise and distortion as any other type of cable.

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I cannot offer a technical explanation.  I can only offer my experience.

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Re:  Ethernet cable.  1’s & 0’s.   My upstream streaming chain (modem, router, WiFi access point) is tricked out with power conditioning, LPS’s and NA Eno filters.  The goal is to reduce noise.   I’ve experimented with several different ethernet cables.   Each had a different SQ that could easily be heard downstream.  The process was not a quick A/B swap.  It was long-term listening over weeks.   I could hear the difference in dynamics, tone and timbre.  I’m very pleased with my Sablon Audio 2020 Ethernet cables.

Re: S/PDIF cable.  More 1’s & 0’s.    After reading this review, I purchased the Synergistic Research Galileo digital cable.  The SQ changed when connecting the gold or silver tuning modules – or no tuning module.   The SQ changed again if the ground pin was connected to ground – or not.

Re: USB cable.  More 1’s & 0’s.    After my experience with the SR Galileo S/PDIF cable, I purchased this SR USB cable.    The SQ changed when connecting the blue or red tuning modules – or no tuning module.  The SQ changed again if the ground pin was connected to ground – or not.

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Apologies for derailing this thread.  This discussion should be under digital.