Most cable stuff is bs definitely - but there are nuggets around long cable runs - you do need to think about the capacitance on long runs as well as interference/noise on long (unbalanced) runs…
Also, with modulars etc, longer cables can increase capacitive load on the output of modules which can have an effect if they are poorly designed…
But most of the cable magic woo is bs ! 
(IMO)
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Cable matters. There are good and bad cables, and they impact the sound. It’s physics.
Quality comes at a price. It’s not that good cables are expensive, it’s bad/crappy cable that are cheap.
Super expensive cables it’s marketing, most of the times.
Distortion, FX’s, etc, are different things. They do specific, controllable and desired artifacts.
To an extent, sure. But not to the amount that people go on about it.
At a large festival using a fully analogue system, there will be several hundred meters of cable to get signals from instruments to the FOH desk and back to the main PA. Not to mention multiple connections, gain stages, conversions, power supplies… etc. etc. (live sound used to be my career).
If that is acceptable for the biggest acts and live sound companies, then I think a few extra meters of cable in a home setup is going to be inconsequential.
As long as you’re not using the cheapest, unsheilded cables and coiling them up next to power supplies, you’ll be fine.
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Rather like foam baffles on studio walls. 
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discussion reminds me of this:
“I’ve got some really shitty cables holding this stuff together…” 
for me, it’s basically all Hosa stuff. works. isn’t insanely priced. nothing is over ten feet long. it’s mainly when you get into long cable runs that you need to be concerned.
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That’s one of the reasons why live recordings do not compare to studio recordings, qualitywise.
In live situation they use different devices than a mixing/mastering studio. Also in these days I think modern protocols (dante, madi, etc) should greatly reduce cabling, also in live situation, while improving quality.
Hahahaha
I think that is one of the last in along list of reasons. The acoustics, SM 58’s instead of Neuman’s, no separation between the instruments…and in the end maybe the cables.
They certainly have done, and this has reduced weight and saves troubleshooting. It also, incrementally, reduced the noise that results from long analog cable runs.
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That’s my point. A live setup is completely different from a studio setup. Also due to inherent limitations. But we are talking about a studio setup. Anyway serious bands use very expensive devices, outboard, cables, DI boxes, etc. Few years ago I went to Alan Parsons and Massive Attack concerts and the setup and audio quality was impressive. I don’t think they saved on cables.
Anyway I don’t sell cables, so if anybody with a 10K+ studio likes cheap cables it’s ok for me 
I’ve been working in live sound for almost 25 years (yes, I’m old). The difference between cheap and expensive cables is durability and reliability. The cost of cables in a big live gig is indeed immense due to the stressful life of a cable in the touring business.
If we go back to the bedroom studio of your average Elektronaut, the sound quality of 1m instrument cable is identical between Mogami, Klotz or Hosa for all practical purposes.
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I’m not particularly qualified to express an opinion, professionally, but this has always been my understanding too.
If I may be so bold, this thread appears to be going a little off topic.
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[Mod speaking]
This conversation belongs here I believe.
You may resume.
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Cables are two things : connections and wires.
If connection is of poor quality, you may end with a jack stick in its input.
Regarding wires, balanced is obviously better to get rid of noise, but not always necessary (e.g. for short cables)
My experience as a former guitarist and now an electronic musician jamming weekly away from the studio, is that the way you treat cables matters most.
Don’t jump/walk/trample on them, of course.
Winding them was how I broke so many cables, when I was young.
For 5m+ cables, I don’t roll them around my upper arm anymore, it gives some rotation to the cable that isn’t great for them. Now I first fold them at the half first (which negates the rotation), then I fold them in 30cm loops that I tie together with a velcro.
Never had any cable trouble since.
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In the end it is like any other piece of gear: yes they are tools and should be looked at in this way (although some of us cherish them…).
Take care of your gear and it will look after you in return
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Youtube has you covered^^
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Cool!
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It really works well! You can immediately feel that the cables gets almost no tension compared to rolling it into an endless loop like around your arm or smt.
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coiling cables was the first lesson in audio school. over under method for life.
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