Spkr cbls & IC's-must they be same brand

Carl's experience, which I think was that Audioquest Diamond did not synergise with Audioquest Dragon, proves there are no "golden rules" in this game. But equally, on two occasions I have experienced systems suddenly coming right, when the final cable was changed to match the existing cables. I suspect some manufacturers deliberately voice their cables to work synergistically - but that equally they could not survive unless their cables could stand alone - since this is how they will be listened to very often. My point is that I reckon it is better to find a brand that has an even-handed presentation (in my case I like the neutrality of Wireworld cables) and try a whole set of them to see if they work with your system. As opposed to putting an interconnect cable in your system that is too [insert anything here you like] and then be forced to limit your choice of speaker cable or even components to items that provide the appropriate form of countervailing distortion. I certainly have found that there is a significant benefit from getting a synergistic relationship between interconnect and speaker cables which, if you do not get it, cannot be overcome by playing elsewhere with your system. I have not found the same to be true of digital cables (ie. no real synergy issues with interconnects, for example), and I have found that power cords need to synergise with the components they feed, rather than with any other cable in the system. Hope this helps.

Yes, Redkiwi. And, how very astute that you remembered which cables I thought did not synergize well. Of course it was in my system context (always must be taken into consideration...most of us know this, of course), and I suspect that in a laid back system with some unusual tonal things going on in the upper bass, perhaps those two would be the ONLY cables that would work. Also, I totally agree about the AC cord being tuned to the corresponding component it powers, moreso than to the cabling in the rest of the system. Very good points.

Definitly not in my opinion. I've never had the same brand until recently and I've been through lots of wire with some satisfying results and not so satisfying as well. I do believe a synergistic match can be made but it takes lots of trial and error and you must trust your own ears - you'll know when it happens I guarantee you. I think Carl makes a good point, interconnects should be a step up from speaker cables unless your budget allows otherwise. That's my current setup; MIT Shotgun IC's and MIT 750+ Series 3. It is the best wire I've had in my system. Good luck.

Well, I think it's a matter of taste and how good your ear is. Mine's pretty shot I guess, so I can't really hear much difference between two GOOD cables. I'm not going to say you should use the freebie interconnect that comes with the closeout CD player you got from Best Buy or a penny-a-foot speaker wire. However, do listen to some different stuff and see if you CAN hear a difference. There's no reason the same manufacturer is all you should listen to or feel locked into buying. I bought two different manufacturer's interconnent just to see if I could see any difference. The system sounds just as good either way. 10% of your budget should be spent on cables. That sounds fair to me. Buy what you think sounds good. You're the one who's going to be listening to it!

I must agree with Audiolover on this one, he makes good points about different loads and tasks each cable faces, I say mix and match, best of class etc. I wonder if all those recommending interconnects and cables from same company have their CDP, DAC,Preamp,AMP from same company using the same logic, if the answer is no aren't you giving up the same "synergies" you feel cables provide? And why have interconnects and speaker cables match but not AC cords, this is a contradiction of previous rationale. You guys just killed the used cable market, as I must now have matched set of interconnects and speaker cables.....regards Sam BTW matched sets are fine, but mixed sets can often sound better for less money.