Which is more important, spkr. or intrc. cable?

I'd say interconnect from source to pre #1. Speaker cable #2 then #3 interconnect from pre to amp. Power cords #4.

However, they are all important. Any weak link. Plus system matching comes into play...

I've always heard the best results by putting the best cables from source to pre.

In my view speakers cables make the most noticable difference, if for no other reason is that folks usually run longer speaker cables which will make their differences more noticible. Choice of IC's might well depend on their use, probably more so than their length (assuming that your component has the ability to drive long runs of IC's). For a very clean signal I'd probably select source 1st, but used as a sort of tone control I'd use it on the offending component.

In my experience speaker cable and IC from source to pre are pretty much equal in importance. I think perhaps the IC beats the speaker for detail/resolution, and the speaker beats the IC as a tone control.

you have to go with the speaker cable hands down. the biggest most important system matching is the amp-speaker combo. get the amp and speakers right and every thing else pales in importance. You can only focus on the amp and speakers and be happy with any short commings up front anyways. reverse that idea and wory about the front end and you will never be happy.

If the info doesn't get from the front end to the amp, you won't hear it from the speakers.

Ecruz, how do you know if the info from the front end is getting through if the speaker end is compromised? Or to stretch a point, if you know you have wax in your ear canal, do you still insist on upgrading the source because you are afraid that the 'info doesn't get from the front end'? Clear up the final link and then you will know if any changes to the source are beneficial.
Bob P.

The good news is that you can get very far with cheap speaker wires. Use signal transmission cables, sit back and listen.

I use a 65 cents/ft military surplus signal transmission wire (silver plated copper, teflon insulated) both as speaker cable and power cord. The cryo'ed cable Lak and I tested was so uncomfortably close to Pure Note Epsilon it wasn't funny.

Save your money for EXCELLENT interconnects.

Read the archives here and the Asylum.

I recommend to my customers their concentration should be on the low level (source to pre, digital connections, etc) signal paths first. They have the greatest ability to affect the overall quality of sonics IMO. Obviously some others disagree. Based on the discussion here you'll need to find out for yourself.

As you can see from the responses, there is no consensus. I'd consult the folks at http://www.usedcable.com It's important to know all of the specifics, such as price, sonic preferences, etc., and they can narrow the field quickly.

Mahandave has obviously not thought this through. The detail information between the source and preamp is at a super low level of output strength and is carrying the most infinitely fine detail until it passes through a wire connection. This is the cable that pays the system the most for ultimate detail retrieval. Speaker cables are the wires I can get away with a good neutral cable set. The source to pre gets the best and it helps to match that for the pre to amp set but a midgrade can be used there. I am writing a paper on that for Audiogoners that will be under cable as "cable logic"

You can see from the responses if you know how to weed through for the ones that mean anything a distinct pattern. If you take all posts it seems like they are all over the place. If you look for the guys who are dealers and have experience with huge numbers of products they usually have figured out that it's in the source to preamp connection, it is the most delicate and fragile and has all the information until it gets degraded by the first set of cables to whatever degree you determine by the interconnect used. After the preamp bolsters and amplifies the signal it's at a much higher and stronger amplitude and a good midgrade neutral cable won't have nearly as much loss although it should be matched as well.