Audiophile needed...

[Archangel (aka SoupDragon)]

...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)

[n3tgraph]

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

[Archangel (aka SoupDragon)]

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 :/

[Soft, Gooey, Delicious.]

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.

[Soft, Gooey, Delicious.]

Headphones usually work better than speakers.

[frobozz]

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.