The Science of Cables

Ok, let me flip this around.  As a Pro-Audio guy, cables do/can sound "different".  Any audio engineer can tell you the difference a Mogami or Canare cable vs. some low end 100' generic cable. 

It is a matter of, method of "TONE CONTROL".  Easily explained by physics.  *** Cables are the 'new' Tone Control.  ***  (Poorly if you ask me)

Years ago, our audio gear had tone controls, and remember graphic and parametric 'Equalizers'?  Want a boost in the mid's? Bump 1K a hair.

Somehow Audiophiles got so caught up in signal path they took away 'tweeks, and adjustability'.  We now are stumbling around swapping cables to hear "clearer mids", "better bass", blah blah blah. 

Here is my take on this, and why I have a McIntosh C52 with 8-Band EQ.I use quality cables with good measurements, most of which are the same cables used in the actual recording studio (Mogami, Canare, BJC).  And then if I need a little tweak here and there, or to fix a poor recording, I engage the EQ and make it sound how I prefer it.  "FLAT" is overrated.

Save yourself the money on esoteric cables, and just bring back tone controls.  :-)
P.S.  The majority of music you listen to was recorded with Mogami/Canare cables, so maybe we all should standardize on that and let the system (speakers, amp, pre, source) speak for themselves.

@teo-audio

Actually, I am sure - It's Not!
But still, enlighten me...Jim

+1vwfan
Well said....Jim

+2vfwfan53 . I have tried many cables and have always come back to my Mogami . Just a well balanced wire all around . It works well with my King Sound King stats , it has underperformed with other speakers though . Some dull sounding speakers sounded , well dull using the Mogami and wires that boosted highs worked better in those cases .

What is the audio equivalent of adjusting “contrast” (like in a photo / image editor)? When I have rejected a lot of cables and power conditioners  (very expensive ones included) it is because I find them artificially boosting what I can only describe as “contrast”. Like in photography, boosting contrast can makes images look better (sharper, clearer, punchier, etc...), but kinda just for an instant. Over the long term, you kinda lose interest in the artificial boost and just want your images (or music) to look (sound) natural. In a sense I find a lot of cables trying to sell themselves on a sonic gimmick of sorts. That said when you find the right cable it can sound so “natural”, “balanced”, “uncolored”, “organic”, etc...

partly i I ask this question and make this comment because I don’t feel I hear a vocabulary around the “sound” of cables that corresponds to my experience. I do agree with the previous comment re: modern tone control... I have noticed that too. But more so in the negative... I find many deficient cables lacking in a proper tonal balance and the most synergistic cables pretty balanced across the spectrum, perhaps with a bit of extra weight in the mid-bass that seems to be my personal preference (or tolerance for a lack of perfect balance.)