...to answer a question. I was gonna write out a long thread here detailing my problem in depth, but then I realised it could be boiled down to one simple question:
Does speaker cabling make an impact on sound quality? (bearing in mind that my cabling is REALLY crap)
well, it depends on HOW crap it is :)
and yes, it does affect sound quality
especially when you tape 3 pieces of loose chord to eachother :P
Ok, so it's not as bad as that, but I do notice that my 100pound (that's sterling, not weight, but German keyboards don't have that symbol) pair of speakers with tweeters have worse treble response than a 30pound pair of headphones :/
Yes and No. It makes a big difference if you're using long cables. If the cables are under a couple of metres though, it's not much of a problem. You can buy balanced cables that eliminate this though. The main culprits are bad stereos and speakers though.
Headphones usually work better than speakers.
DISCLAIMER: My dad owns a hi-fi shop, and I work there part time.
The short answer: Yes.
The long answer: Yes, but only if your source/equipment are of decent quality. If you're listening to burned MP3s on your cheap-o system, then $500 interconnects arn't going to do much of anything to improve your overall sound.
-Fro.