Well I too am a believer that you start with the source but my cable experiences paint a much different picture. I have learned that there are two links in my system where cables make the biggest difference: line stage to amp and tonearm cable to phono stage.
I have tried so many cables (NBS, Transparent, Cardas, AQ, Straightwire, SilverAudio, Magnan) and I can move around different cables in the system to listen for differences. The link between the line and amp is always the biggest difference. This was more about preserving the ambience and bloom of the system (Linn TT, Pioneer PD65, ARC DAC3/PH2/LS5/VT130 and Maggie 3.3. Some cables in this link retained the magic and others completely lost it. I could swap cables between phono stage and line or DAC and line and here some changes in resolution or tonal balance, but it was subtle...the link from line to amp was not subtle at all.
I worked so hard to try to hear differences with speaker cables and yet, the changes were again so mininal. The only other area of significance was the tonearm cable. Here resolution was very apparent. The SilverAudio was miles ahead of the ARC or Straightwire in terms of information retrieval.
So for me it has not been a matter of the better cables at the front of the chain. And this surprised me. But I have learned that each link tends to be affected by cable changes differently than the other links. Sometimes resolution, or tonal balance or ambience, etc. For me, the NBS Statement works by far the best in the line to amp link. But the Cardas Golden Cross worked well too but perhaps a little too warm and rich in the midrange. But it took the NBS to bring on another level of resolution and retain the magical ambience of the system. Swapping source cables to the line stage had minimal effect on this.
Your experiences may end up totally different. Always try before you buy!
