Have I heard major differences in sound for better or for worse by switching speaker cables in people's system's? You betcha.
I'm not just chiming in to place my opinion on one side or the other, phpBB has its own voting mechanism for surveys if we want to play that game. I do have some comments and questions.
Do I often wonder the how or why's of system changes, whether its a few feet of wire, or otherwise? Sure. Do I really care that much if its does something better and meets my budget, nope.
Being that I've heard drastic changes due to wire in this system or that, the thing that I have wondered is why I don't see as elaborate designs or choices inside the speaker as mentioned in the original message, just with the slant that I think there are benefits to be had....potentially.
But you rarely here of crazy geometry, protection, isolation, etc inside of the speaker -- any reason? You see people replace it with 'improved' wire, but rarely more than just replacing it with better 'hookup' wire. I'd think if anything, with this would be critical for those that cover every detail...being in an environment with plenty of vibration...say having the need or benefit of certain type of cable or gauge, and then being stuck hitting a binding post, and then going through cabling with half the care taken. Any comments without sarcasm?
Outside of cabling, if we are going to talk of everything from the end of your speaker cable connection up to the crossover, I'd be more included to shun the binding posts rather than the internal wiring, though I'm still curious.
As completely eliminating binding posts at the amplifier end, and at the crossover/driver end of things typically isn't feasible for most people, I've been intrigued by the idea of using binding posts, but not necessarily having them so much in the path.
If you're willing to modify, or are completely DIY, I like the idea that's been proposed to leave the binding posts, but disconnect the internal connection. Then drill a hole next to each binding post, enough to pull the wire through, and then place the 'internal' wiring as well as your speaker cable in said binding post, enough to make a very solid connection...using the binding post, but not having it really in the path. Do the same thing for your speaker and speaker cable.
This may have been discussed here in another thread, but I'd been reading of people doing this for users of Paul Speltz's Zeros, and also on the Decware forum and users of the Hornshoppe horns, and many felt this provided them with benefit....plus its a lot cheaper than some of the rediculously expensive posts for sale these days.
