Hi Cblake, Sully,
I would point out that Axiom makes no claims about our cables improving sound quality, and since I wrote the text (as well as the advice in the M22 manual to use generic 14-gauge speaker wire), and act as an advisor and consultant to Axiom, I've pasted the relevant text from the Axiom cable page on the site for you all to read:
"Copper speaker cables and interconnects have no 'sound' of their own."
"Indeed, some exotic cable manufacturers claim that their overpriced wire will actually improve the electrical signals! Not so -- as long as the copper is 99.9999% pure, there is little or no resistance, and the connections are electrically sound, then the cables will carry your signals from source to destination without degradation."
"Axiom offers a full range of high-quality cables and interconnects that feature robust mechanical construction and impeccable electrical characteristics."
"High-value, high-end cables - with no hype." - Ian Colquhoun, president and founder, Axiom.
(For the record, Axiom's bulk 12-gauge speaker cable has a measured electrical resistance of 0.003 ohms per foot, which is electrically and audibly insignificant.)
Now, I entirely understand the urge of audio enthusiasts to attribute "musical" or even poetic qualitites to electrical cables. This is a wonderful hobby, and we're all trying to improve the fidelity and reality of musical reproduction in the home, but scientific fact and laws of physics cannot be ignored. I am not suggesting that using 22-gauge high-resistance cable will not introduce changes that can be measured and may be audible with musical programming.
However, after years of participating in controlled double-blind listening tests at one of the world's most sophisticated acoustical laboratories (the National Research Council in Ottawa, Canada), I have NEVER detected audible differences between 14-gauge/12-gauge generic copper speaker cables and many so-called "exotic" and expensive branded cables, some as thick as a garden hose and costing $1,500 for 2 meters. Nor did my experienced colleagues hear any differences.
It was in my interest, and in the magazine I edited in Canada for 13 years (Sound&Vision) to hear differences in cables. Cable advertising is a big source of revenue for any audio/video magazine. But none of us heard differences, so I stated these results in the magazine. Needless to say, we never received any cable advertising. That may have been a foolhardy editorial stance on my part, since the magazine eventually ceased publication for lack of ad revenues, but as a journalist and editor, I couldn't have slept at night had I reported any differently to readers and subscribers.
When you remove the inherent psychological biases of price, brand, and physical appearance of cables from the equation, the alleged audible differences evaporate.
Regards,
