Why Do Cables Matter?

Here is why cables matter.  Power to a lamp is just enough current to make a filament glow.  It doesn't matter what the waveform looks like, whether there is noise on the circuit, or if there are losses/disruptions along the way.  If the power gets to the light bulb, the electrician declares victory.

In a stereo application, we have 2 goals:  signal and power.  The signal path is sacred.  You don't have just power running through there, you have all the detail of the music encoded into the electrical signal.  each transition between materials, across junctions, bad solder joints, or even large mass changes such as speaker binding posts challenge the signal to maintain all that precious data.  The better the wire, the more consistent the path, the less material or physical interfaces that the signal sees, the less it is disrupted.  In a perfect world  it would be a straight wire of silver running through a vacuum.  So do everything you can to make the signal wire as successful as possible.

Power is less important but important just as well.  There are 2 aspects of power:

1.  adequate size of the conductor.  The cable needs to be larger than you would think, even for a low power amp.  this supports dynamic changes where current flow can be very high for a very short period of time.  

2.  Quality of connectors and 60 hz waveform etc.   The quality of the power needed is often less important because manufacturers of great amps take care of this themselves but it can never hurt and using high quality cables can add.  I think the 1st point above is 95% of it but others disagree and you can form your own opinion.

Jerry

@gs5556 : Your analogy comparing water pressure to electricity for speaker wire is way off! Amperage/current is  not at all like water pressure! Resistance is the defining constant for speaker wire. The longer the run the better it is to have lower resistance to control the voice coil motion of dynamic drivers. Inductance and capacitance here are not important.

If you can’t hear the difference with good cables then save yourself the money and don’t buy them. Sadly for us many of us can hear a difference and spend accordingly.

I am not such an insecure audiophile that I would lose sleep wondering if, say, Kimber cable would sound better than Mogami!

From 1992 to 2015 I used a twenty-foot pair of Mogami 2477 Blue Neglex 14gauge coax speaker cable to power my KLH Nine full-range electrostats. I was perfectly happy with this combination!

My bias is to prefer Mogami because it's so inexpensive, but unfortunately other cables sound much better...when I had Dali MS5 speakers I bought a set of their speaker cables that were identical to the internal wiring but did not prefer them...and who spends big money on cables that are not returnable ???

Whatever, yet again.

Some people use their ears, and some just read, to make their listening determinations.

@kinarow1 -

        Many upscale equipment designers do use better wire within their products*, or: offer such as an upgrade.

         Even companies that manufacture PC boards, take into account the dielectric constants, of the material used and their effects on signal speed, among other factors.

               *ie: David Manley (of VTL) was already using George Cardas' wire, internally, back in the Eighties.      Emerald Physics offers WireWorld, OCC internal wiring, as an option/upgrade.

       The adherents of the Naysayer Church will never accept that there exist a multitude of variables, when an accurate simulacrum of performers and their performance in a particular venue, is the desire/goal.

        If their result differs from that of others, the aspects that they can't discern CERTAINLY MUST BE the product of the others' imagination.

             Of this they are certain: it CAN'T be THEIR system or ears!

                                      Perish the thought!

A much more apropos view of the local, imaginary intelligence operative (et al):

                                           (SNORT of derision)

As the old saying goes, "to each their own".

I'm in the same camp as the OP, I use Mogami on just about everything and Pangea power cables. I'm perfectly happy with it - my system sounds great.

My pockets aren't as deep as some, so I'd rather put my money into upgrading my hardware. Of course if I ever feel I'm done with hardware, who knows, I might experiment with cables a bit

Bottom line, who am I to diss someone who swears by their cables?

And all fish taste alike!

Remove the sense of sight and all wire sounds alike! 

I see the mob carrying flaming torches and pitchforks approaching! 

No, you and your mob beat us to it.!  What's with all the projection? All of your critiques can be turned around on you and your kind, which they have been in the past. You just seem to take sadistic delight in fanning the flames in support of anyone who brings up this dead horse of an argument. Always have.

Despite your insults (which are bourne out of losing so many arguments in the past on this subject) anyone with half a brain and two good ears can hear the difference. 

All the best,
Nonoise

Here’s an analogy. Suppose you have to run 100 feet of hose to a lawn sprinkler from a hose bib. The instructions say to use a 1-inch diameter hose for that length of run in order for the sprinkler to spray the design water pattern. You say that does not make sense because the 2 foot pipe from the water main to the hose bib is only 1/2 inch. The reason is the pressure drop is lower to the hose bib because of the short 2 foot length. Taking that out 100 feet will reduce the pressure by a factor of 50 and there will not be enough pressure for the sprinkler to work as advertised. To counteract the pressure loss, a larger diameter hose is needed. The hose bib's 1/2 inch pipe is not the weakest link -- it sets the initial condition of water pressure. This is similar for hose bib/amplifier, hose/speaker cable and sprinkler/speaker.