As Don mentioned, avoid the thick and crazy-expensive audiophile cables. You have to remember most audiophiles have noticeably colored transistor gear, and use aftermarket products like power conditioners and $5000+ cables to minimize glare, grain, and excessive HF output in their systems. The better approach is using low-coloration electronics and loudspeakers with a smooth response, especially above 2 kHz.
The key spec in any cable, much more important than any other, is capacitance per foot (or meter). Capacitance should be well under 100 pF/foot, preferably much, much less. Inductance *does not* matter unless you are running an AM transmitter (those are RF cables). Inductance does not load down the preamp, but capacitance does, occasionally causing transient instability in a preamp with high feedback. The Raven has zero feedback, but solid-state preamps typically have very high amounts of feedback (40 dB or more), resulting in load sensitivity to the preamp/amplifier interconnect.
The quality of the insulator (dielectric) in the cable also affects the sound, and Teflon is not necessarily the best. It’s the first choice for aerospace applications, and has exceptional DF and DF measurements, but in my experience, may not the best for audio. Various types of plastic all have their own colorations, and the process of fabricating the cable applies mechanical stress to the plastic, which changes its dielectric properties. The more complex the construction, the more complex the coloration, and the longer it takes to settle down (possibly never). Most of all, DO NOT TRUST the reviews you see in magazines or on the Internet.
