Quote Originally Posted by BrentMcGhee
Don't get sucked into snake oil bussiness that i like to call cables. It is my firm beleif that as long as you dont use the cheapy unshielded interconnects that come with your equipment than cable is going to make the least amount of performance increase in your system. My order from most effective to least effective performance increases are as follows.

Most Influential
#1: Speakers
#2: Source

Influential
#4: Pre Processors

Least Influential
#5: Amps
Within in the same type of amps. Now changin from say tubes to SS to the new digital drive there are big differences but when in stayin in the same type with the same specs there is very minor differences between them. ex. dennon 75watts both channels driven 20hz-20khz with <0.03thd and 110db snr will be pretty much identical to say a rotel 75watts both channels driven 20hz-20khz with >0.03thd and 110snr.
#6: Interconnects
#7: Speaker wire


All of that being said i really like bluejeans cables becasue they are by no means expensive and they are very well built. They have a really good website that explains all of there cables. (i have no affiliation with bluejeans cables, in fact there are plenty of good cable companies out there that dont add all the cosmetic frills to there cables and sell them at a reasonable price i just own bluejeans cables and have been very pleased with them as well as the service i got from the company themselves.)

Now i know i will probably get flamed by all of the people out there that would put cables at the top of the list to be the most influential. That is fine for those that think that way. I am not saying that is wrong in anyway i am just saying what i beleive.
Item # 5 is completely false! Amps with identical specs more often than not sound VERYdifferent because the sound quality depends on lots of variables like quality and type of transistors used as well as other components. Circuit design also has a lot to do with it. For example, a MOSFET amp has a distinct sonic signature not found in others. There is a reason why a 75w Classe amp will sound significantly better than your 75w Denon. The difference is anything but minor.

I would also rate preamps higher than sources of the same type in terms of how they influence sound.