Cable congestion vs. "the ideal"...


Many of you have likely heard the notion that the cables in your audio system should be a minimum of three inches (or five, or six) apart, or at least only cross each other at right angles. There are products available to assist with that goal, but honestly, how many of us can possibly achieve that in the real world?

I recently updated my older, non-HDMI multichannel components (Bel Canto) with new (Bryston SP3, Oppo BDP-105D). Apart from eliminating a few coaxial and optical digital cables thanks to HDMI, I still have a butt-load of cables behind my equipment stand, and a lot of them are approximately zero inches apart and cross each other at a multitude of angles.

Q: How have you pursued this goal? (with religious fervor, I'm sure)

Q: Have you found that it makes an audible difference? (I kinda hope not)

Q: Should I instead find a "solution" in a bottle? (single malt, not Kontak)

I'm listening.

cvalle
I think it's fine to have signal cables running closely together. When they must be near AC cables, it's best to cross them at a 90-degree angle. If your system supports balanced connections, using them is the best way to minimize cable effects.
At $95 a dozen ?   I can figure out how to make something to separate my cables.
Makes an audible difference in a high resolution system such as mine. Shunyata DFSS Darkfield Suspension System on my power cords and speaker wire was much better stage width and depth go figure.They are not cheap but worth every cent. 
@zmanastronomy,

Would you care to tell us what brand of cables you're using in your system?

The brand of cable has nothing to do with it.

The fact that a simple separator made of wood will do the same thing for next to nothing.

I don't know why certain people feel the urge to impart wisdom on matters they have no experience with....

I would love to hear from folks who have experience with wood separators on cables that are suspended in the air. 
I agree with Cleeds.  I worry only about power cords..most interconnects have coverings that protect it from cross currents affecting each other.  I have raised my speaker cables off the floor, and separated the interconnects from each other and heard no difference at all.
There is one thing about interconnects that is quite audible and that is the direction they are inserted. Yup, you got that right, just like fuses.  So if you're sitting around and don't have anything better to do try reversing the interconnects. It only takes a minute.