"World's Best Cables" vs Audioquest interconnects

I went with Synergistic Research.  Jason Ressler at The Cable Company, is the most knowledgeable person I have ever talked to.  He needs to conduct Zoom Meeting to teach.  He knows speakers, amps, streamers, interconnects.  People at retail stores know a fraction of what he knows.

I have Audio Quest and Silver Streak cables and connectors, with which I am happy.  Once I am happy with the sound, I keep what is working.  Why run the risk of degrading what you are liking?  Especially when, at 70, I am dealing with high frequency hearing loss and tinnitus.  It would take a dramatic improvement for me to be able to tell a difference!

Why would two cables that measure very similarly have to be level matched when comparing the two, if cables don't make any difference you shouldn't have to level match.

Do all cables sound the same?  Uh no

Do measurements tell the whole story?  Nah

Are most cables a variation on a theme or at worst, new age snake oil?  Most, some more than others

Are there manufacturers who have been around since the beginning of the High End audio cable markets inception?  Why yes there are…specifically MIT and Transparent.  They were music lovers who wanted to improve the way audio signals were propagated from one component to another.  They used science and experimentation to improve signal transfer and increase their enjoyment of reproduced sound.  These cables do sound different, but most of all, they deliver cables that can allow anyones system to sound more realistic, more dynamic and full of life with superior low level detail, a richer more textured midrange and deeper, more well controlled and defined bottom end.

So is wire just wire?  Kinda, unless your using cables that are purposely designed to enhance the transmission of the delicate audio signal you might as well use coat hangers.

Sadly, cable "break in" is real. You don't have to understand WHY to know that the phenomenon is real. I use 50 conductor flat computer cables (remember the old hard drive cables ? - only with 50 silver plated copper wires) for speaker cables. They "break in" in about two hours. In the first half hour, the sound changes radically; it is a wonder to hear. At first, it seems that the two speakers they feed are connected out of phase. I was sure I had done something wrong. I shut down the system and checked out my connections. They were fine. I turned everything back on and continued listening. An amazing swirl of audio shifts occurred for quite a while. The worst was over in 30 minutes or so and in the next 90 minutes the sound got smoother and smoother. A friend is using a set of these cables on his Martin-Logan electrostats (McIntosh power amps) and says they are the best he's  heard. I use TV coax for some interconnects and 300 ohm twinlead for some other low impedance interconnects and the "between components" cables don't change much in time. A certain company claims that their wires need 600 hours of "break in." Long enough that the "you can send them back for a full refund" period is over. USB cables have proven to be critical and I don't try to make them. The best I've found are Zavfino's from Canada (when used between a laptop and PreBox S2 Digital). DACs seem to be very fussy about their cables and what works well for one may not suit a different DAC. Happy Listening!