How accurate are cable descriptions for your system?

@artemus_5 

 It also depends upon which speaker cable you went from to the new one.

Great point. Another variable not factored in by most reviewers or commenters. This whole hobby careens between art, pseudo-science, and science without a whole lot of clues.
 
 @williewonka  -- Steve, thanks for your great post and the link to the Zavfino thread. Your account of why the hobby is subjective and the variety of your listening tracks was masterful.
 
@lalitk 

 IMO, cables are just as important as your components and room acoustics. And you gotta hear them in your system rather than relying on reviewers and manufacturers description.

 Well put. The video I was referencing above has, today, 23,256 views. If what folks here have said is true, then the video is quite the bit of puffery. I wouldn't make such assertions to such a wide following but then again, I care about my reputation for saying reasonably true things.
 
I can see the usual back and forth with Mahgister and room acoustics is happening. I'm only trying to discuss the relative accuracy of cable character claims. 
 
 @ghdprentice  Thanks for your co@decooney  has also a long track record of very careful trial and error. When you guys discuss cables, I listen and then try to relate whether my gear, room, tastes and other factors to the experimental situation described. Then, I may try a cable.
 
 @jasonbourne52  Which particular Ouija boards give the most transparent and accurate results? I have a Ouija board but it's tubby, etched, shrill, and flabby in its predictions.
 
 @whart  
 

 Before you go crazy on wire, I’d want to know that the system is optimized for the room, some room treatment or other things may prove to be important too, but placement and positioning, which may require some experimentation and heavy lifting, might also be in order first.

Great post and I like your order of priority. I totally agree. One should not "sweat the small stuff" if the big stuff isn't already dealt with. That's why I spent over a year and half mostly on room acoustics.
 
 @prndlus 
 
"I don’t trust anything said by a seller about subjective aspects of their audio equipment; they have motive to stretch the truth, and no reason to be especially truthful because there are no consequences."
 
 Agreed. And once again, in the item mentioned in my OP, we don't have a "seller" but a Youtube "reviewer" who is just imparting his "wisdom" to his thousands of viewers. It's more furrowing of the earth between fact and fiction, news and infotainment.
 
 @dinov 
   "Then as you go up the line on a cable it’s all about the resolution, micro details, sound stage. This is particularly true with a couple of the brands I have ie: analysis plus, and nordost."
   
   I have a couple levels of AP and I completely agree with this description -- despite whatever other differences we have, this is true for my situation. 

@hilde45

If cabling is next on your pursuit to system building, I highly recommend Zavfino’s and Combak’s High performance to Cost Line. There are folks here who had direct experience with both brands and eventually end up with Combak HCL. PM me if you’re interested in learning more about these brands.

The only worthwhile piece of advice anyone can give you is only buy returnable cables.  Try them out and compare.

There are far too many variables in audio to say anything with certainty with regard to someone else’s system.

In my experience, the skill of the recording engineer swamps everything else!

@hilde45 after comparing a cable in my own system, when fortunate to do so, I like to try and take the same cable to a few different friend’s places and compare again with a completely different system and room setup. While it can seem to be a bit of a swag, it can be interesting to listen for characteristics that do carry over with the cable. It can be much more interesting and valuable when comparing on another transparent system.

I often read folks stating a cable should not have a sound. My thought is all cables can impact sound, and which ones impact the sound the least and let the music through is what I enjoy listening for. Some hear differences, while others don’t. Finding the "giant killers" at a lower cost has been another reason to evaluate different cable designs.

@hilde45

i use the tuneful belden cables from the fellas in brooklyn... very happy with them - excellent sound irrespective of their modest price - very balanced presentation, very good detail and ambience retrieval with some midrange warmth - i also very much like the spring loaded bananas they use - i like them especially with my dynamic speakers (harbeth, spendor, fritz)... for maggies which pull alot more current from the amps, i move to heavier gauge wire, shorter runs

kimber xlo nordost mapleshade/clearview and zu are zippier sounding, cardas duller/warmer - for less money, i find the tuneful ic's and speaker cables sonically equivalent to most good copper cables (from straightwire, ww, audioquest, et al)