Hi @minatophase3
I also had the DSR XLR available so I put that in the box too.
What @jtcf mentioned is true, while I try to achieve the maximum clarity and resolution for every ZenWave cable, tone is very different! The "right" tone can vary a lot from system to system and from person to person. This is why I offer 3 different high-end interconnect cables, from the pure silver DSR to the silver/gold D4 and the silver/GOLD D5.
With speaker cables I think the results are more dependent on electrical characteristics, speakers typically have an impedance of 4-8 ohms where components are usually over 10,000 ohm and often over 100,000 ohm. So the speaker cable carries a lot more current (and usually a lot more voltage) and so more energy is stored in the EMF or electro magnetic fields. Reducing inductance by using flat wire and/or specific and special geometries reduces energy stored in the magnetic fields and makes for better performance. The combination of the electrical characteristics of the SC + the speaker is best when it presents the amplifier with an ideal load, in fact in some amps excessive cable capacitance can cause instability and amplifier damage. So we're not looking for the least inductance at the expense of having far too much capacitance, and imo it's best if this can be achieved without correction networks, and this is the reason my ribbon cables and litz cables are superior to cables that use traditional round wires.
That said, you're also at the mercy of the speaker designer, I feel like many crossovers are designed without any consideration for the amps and cables used to power them and this can make it so non-ideal speaker cables may be more ideal for a particular speaker. It's likely that if every speaker had crossovers with impedance correction and then used an electrically ideal cable that the selection of speaker cables would be much more straightforward.
