It's Simple


Cables have properties Inductance L, Resistance R and Capacitance C.
Ditto loudspeaker, connectors, electronics in and out. 

LRC are used to create filters aka Tone Controls.
Filters cause amplitude and phase changes.

Cascading LRC creates a very complex filter.

Another's opinion on a particular cable may not be valid unless they have a very similar system.
128x128ieales
@nonoise,

Should we even bother to engage shardorne when it comes down to....

- Measurements,
- Jitter in digital audio
- Cables

He will hammer you down until you give up the argument 😉
@shadorne

I’m sorry if I’m not making my self clear.

Seriously, please explain how one judges "faithful to the recorded music."

I am truly interested because countless engineers have busted their asses for more than a century to bring playback ever closer to being in the room with the artist.

An appropriate plain cable or wire is not going to change amplitude or phase in any meaningful way.

This link shows Phase and Impedance for 3 speaker wires:
Bob Carver’s Music Ribbon, Rega Duet and a development prototype.
http://www.ielogical.com/Audio/TriWireZ.jpg

Every component, be it tube, transistor, transformer, resistor, capacitor, connector, wire affects the signal passing through it. Surface mount parts sound different because they have vastly different inductance.

I once replaced 3 inches of wire in a recording console main mix buss module with a better one. I did not tell anyone. I was in my shop next to the studio and the engineer came in and said "What did you do?" Why? "It’s effin’ amazing. The bottom is tighter, there’s more punch, the mids are cleaner and the pain is gone, highs airier." I showed him what I’d replaced "You’re sh.....n’ me! It maybe the most significant improvement you’ve ever made."

What exactly is a plain cable?
@lalitk

I think I’m falling back on letting the chips fall where they may. No amount of good intentioned sharing of experience can go without the ground and pound crowd, without the self appointed saviors of those who don’t need saving. They have an axe to grind and they keep it sharp but seem to strike the same blows, over and over and over, and yet nothing falls.

@ieales,

Welcome to the jungle. 👍

All the best,
Nonoise
I think there is engineering protocol and it has mostly definite parameters. And then there is the real world. They both effect each other but are not exactly the same because engineering cannot conceive of every complexity although it does extremely well thankfully. A reason why we have some nice systems.