interconnects vs speaker cables vs power cords - which make the biggest difference?

the position in the chain is unimportant

what matters is whether the thing behind the cable can be affected by a cable with complex impedance, the current and voltage level of the signal, etc.

all of those point to speaker cables (kudos to the wag who pointed out that speaker placement was more important than any of the 3 choices)

speaker cables can especially affect the sound of certain speakers

Here is what to do re all cabling (and if you do not understand electronics or science, then it is my special magical secret advice):

rund digital as far as possible, then run balanced as far as possible, then use monoblock amps set as close to the speaker as possible and do not worry about the brand of the wire

speaker cables should be short and fairly thick (usually 16 AWG); use gold-plated interconnects and coat all connections with Caig products

make and break the connections every couple of years and if you are tempted to spend more than $200 on all cables combined (for a normal sized home) then just hit yourself in the head with a hammer

if a manf. went to a lot of trouble to design a high cost component then it makes perfect sense that they would eff up the sound with a crummy cheap power cable, .... right???

it is notable advice from a guy who sells cables

if a double blind test shows significant differences from interconnects then somebody really effed up the design of your components

if a double blind test shows significant improvements from speaker cables then you most likely have a speaker with unusual impedance match requirements ("not that there is anything wrong with that")

if you like your speaker cables then you can keep your speaker cables