Which Cable Makes the Biggest Impact?

I don't know why so many people think that there is bad electricity in some areas. It's all AC and it's ALL dirty and noisy. It's the nature of the AC beast. Yes, it may be a tad worse in some areas but it's BAD everywhere.

Sorry Pawlowski, I don't mean to single you out because it seems the vast majority think the same way.

Since my line conditioners have built-in power cables I cannot respond with the exact same experience as the others.

Between ics and scs, the ics make far more impact in my experience.

But the big question is, which run of ics make the biggest impact? Between the source and pre or the pre and amp?

Again, in my experience the run between the source and pre is far more significant than the ics running between the pre and amp. I know a few others who have had the same experience.

-IMO

I've only been in this hobby for about 4 years but in reading Jmcgrogan2's earlier thread today on "Am I Wrong To Be Satisfied", I tend to believe he knows the answer about cable priority. He's been in the hobby for 30 years and has built the "ultimately satisfying system." He said, "I fought the power cord concept for years, but after 5 years of experimenting, this is now the conclusion that I hold." He even says it irritates him to conclude that power cords are dominant. With 30 years in the hobby, spending 5 years experimenting with power cords, resisting the idea of their dominance of the sonics, that says it for me. That was my conclusion too. Power cords top the list in cable priority in my opinion.

1. Room
2. Gear
3. Speakers
4. Icing on the cake....
CABLES

The topic of the thread is "Which Cable Makes the Biggest Impact?"

The best speaker cables in the world and best IC's cannot atone for sins made upstream. i.e. If the source's signal is ruined for lack of serious power cables, then one is fighting a mighty battle trying recoup what's been lost.

Wireless200, I have been saying for quite some time that the configuration, gauge, and materials of cabling (including PC's) have a profound influence on the sound of systems. Many here would agree.

It really does seem counter-intuitive, but I wholeheartedly subscribe to the "Front End Influence" theory that high quality power cords must be used if one is going to have a fighting chance at reaching Hi Fi.

From the experiments with fine cables I have reviewed in the past couple years, If hard pressed to chose superior power cord or superior speaker cable, at this point, I would likely chose the power cord!

Now, Imagine, if a PC on a source is so important, what of the pre? the amp(s)? Truly, when one finds a superior wire, the benefits of outfitting the entire rig seem to be almost exponential.

Over the many years I've been doing audio, I also have come in the "back door" to seeing the significance of quality power cabling. I used to seek serious speaker cables and didn't appreciate the need to feed the source, then amp(s) with just as high quality power cabling. Now, it would be inconceivable for me to put together a rig without it. BTW, my virtual system here is quite old and I haven't updated it with the equipment I'm currently using.

So, allow me to break this down further:
Primary: Power on Source
Power on Pre/Amp(s)
Secondary: IC's
Tertiary: Speaker

Again, ALL are critical to a superb system. However, you pollute a river upstream and you'll be working multiples harder to clean it up downstream. Similarly, pollute the source, and you've made a problem for yourself by the time you reach the speaker cables.

Similar in concept to: Engine, Transmission, suspension. Without a fine engine, the rest hardly matters. Similarly, without a pristine source, the rest suffers.