The weirdness of it all

Good cables beat lamp cords any day. Moving on up to fuses now, not as clear cut. Bottom line is I have gotten to a point where all I do now is listen to music because the obsessing part with the sound thing has magically gone away. I guess that's when you know your system has pretty much arrived. Great satisfying feeling. It took a crap load of time and effort to get to that point though. No pain, no gain is a true part of this audiophile pursuit.

The cable's effect not only differs for each kind of cable, but also its length & connectors, and the amp & speakers used.  I'll keep this simple, since even that is above my pay grade, and only consider resistance, although changes in inductance & capacitance are also in play.

From the amp pov, the cable adds to the resistance it's driving.  That usually results in a (slight!) reduction in the amp's output - but some circumstances could result in an increase.  From the speaker side, the cable resistance adds to the source impedance, lowering damping & resulting in the amp having less control of the speaker (this is why tube amps generally have looser bass than ss - they tend to have a higher output impedance).

Sorry, it's hard not to say "impedance" when talking about audio - that's the result of the complex interaction of inductance (L), capacitance (C), & resistance (R)  in the circuit and of course is frequency-dependent.  So what I said above is true, but additionally complicated by the cable's L & C, and different at every frequency.  The choice of amp & speakers also affects this interaction to varying degrees at every frequency.

Conclusion: If you like how your system sounds, good on you, mate!  If not, cabling can make a difference, but the results are not as measurable or predictable as upgrading your electronics.

The importance of power cables can't be overstated. There is no reason why they should be limited to audio equipment. I love the fact that my Samsung S95B OLED has an IEC power socket, so I can use a decent power cable. Like audio equipment, the improvement is fantastic. Just as audio equipment benefits from isolation feet, so does the TV. The IsoAcoustics ISO-Stage 1 Combo Isolation Board works well and more importantly supports the weight and is stable.

BTW, this isn't sarcasm, but something I wholeheartedly recommend if you want your visual experience to be top-notch.

@petaluman If the audible impacts of cables are due to LCR interactions, the math describing those changes is well known and not very difficult. And as a result, easy to document. But it's a double-edged sword, the inability to document such conditions removes them from consideration. Stereophile for one runs a frequency response of amps into a simulated speaker load with frightening results.  

Interesting...

If the only 'major' setback on the 'perfection' of the signal being moved about the components and delivered to the speakers via the 'new' cable concepts is the speakers themselves.

Now.....

Given that speakers, being the most discussed/argued over/preferred/not preferred/subject to the space placed within (which is a whole other issue), and subject to us...and our noted *ah* 'differences*....

The only item left for a major overhaul IS us.

We Are Obsolete.

*L*  See you in the dustbin....:)