Why Do Cables Matter?

When putting together my first audio chain, my target was linear neutral so that I can better evaluate component upgrades Years of research for cables using reviews to create a hierarchy of price/performance got thrown out the window after this review for the newer model Siltech Classic cables:

https://hifiplus.com/articles/siltech-classic-legend-cables/#:~:text=Classic%20Legend%20is%20an%20extremely,the%20way%20of%20the%20second

Prior I was targeting the MIT cables at Equis Audio because they seemed like a bargain as their features competed with their more expensive cables.

Reviewers most often review quality components, so sometimes you’d have to read between the lines to find an exceptional product.
“Within a few minutes of serious listening, my first note on the page was “Why haven’t I used Siltech Cables more often?” Alan seemed “surprised” in a positive way- unusual for a seasoned reviewer.

”Classic Legend is an extremely neutral conductor, adding or subtracting next to nothing to the sound of the equipment. It’s also extremely consistent:…” is exactly what I was looking for.

So coupled with this great review, Siltech’s reputation for sonic excellence, Siltech’s seemingly extensive experience with silver purification for audio I purchased my interconnects. At least with this cable I can understand refined Silver, and I’ll buy gold filling in gaps is sonically positive, and the price was a reasonable step up from other silver cables.

Tip- at THE Show, I discovered that monocrystal silver is soft and hard to use and make into cable, and that Albedo cables are made with monocrystal silver as Albedo are “jewelers by trade”. If I want to try out other silver cables like for speakers, I may give them a try.

I hate the process of buying cables and I managed to find cables from a company that does it well. So I spent a lot buying speaker cables interconnects and power cords.  

I bought the mid upper tier Products they offered. Extreme stuff is ridiculo… I'm very content with the purchases and very happy I don't have to revisit the process of choosing cables.

The name of the company is transparent

I did buy some quality ethernet cable's and HDMI cable's from audio quest which I think do these areas very well.

I used to manufacture cable and have lots of experiments that revealed to me that the connectors  and soldering are even more important than the wire itself

I find I can agree only with your last paragraph.  You make inferences that cables are simple and easy to make but I haven’t seen much from you to substantiate that.  What then is the proper pricing structure for cables be it Cu, Ag, or Au alloys?  What about the structure and weave of the cable and the insulators used?  Or should not pricing be based on performance?  What is Uber expensive in your mind?  Is an amp, speaker or turntable that costs as much as a 550 HP luxury car overpriced in your mind then?

I will tell you that I know very little about the engineering and design of audio cables but I do know something about wire.  I worked with wire in Aerospace and Automotive.  There the primary goals were fatigue resistance and joint integrity.  Other requirements included noise rejection and EMI emissions.  Wire harnesses can get complicated very quickly and especially when working with high frequencies- ie. 5 kHz and above.

I also know the economics of production.  Low volume, handmade boutique level gear, be it cables, amps or turntables will be costly.  No avoiding that.  A handmade watch that costs $100k cannot keep time as well as a $100 quartz watch but which one looks and feels good on the arm?  No, I myself would never spend that on a watch but I’d love to buy a pair of speakers…