Cables more hype than value?

'Snob people want the better known and expensive system to show their money!'...so by your logic, using another commodity as an example, porsche owners only buy the porsche because they want to show off..?..not because it's a better car than, say, a Kia.. audio systems aren't jewelry. nobody comes over to SEE my system..they come to listen, and only if i invite them.they aren't interested in the price.

Often when I visit people at home they bought something what has good reviews. A review is often an opinion of a person. Or it has been paid by a brand. It says a lot less than we often think. And yes there are good reviews. But the % what is not good is a lot bigger. The other problem most people make in this business is that they do not know the properties of what they bought. Audio is the art of making the right combination of different stuff. And what I also see often is that people bought quite expensive speakers. Compared to the stuff were they drive it with. I say to all these people; you drive at about 30% of the quality your speaker can give. The % is often too low because the speaker can give a wider and deeper stage. It can give a better sound realims then the sound it plays at that moment. The speed and control is often not the best. Lack of resolution, or the instruments and voices are not that really sharp focusses. What I do is bringing in a amp which can show them the things they miss. Or call it a mirror to understand what the speaker can do better. Money in audio does often not say a thing at all. I compare all the time with other amps, sources, cables, conditioners etc. To open the ears and eyes of these people. So I bring it with me to show them. On and on and on.....

@calloway : please if you want to be credible to me, you should use another example than cars! Cars are mechanics! Porsche use better engineering than Kia and it's not meant for the same purpose and use. Of course there is fame in car's business too (Ferrari is not reliable like Porsche for example) but it's mainly mechanic.
Watches are mechanic too. There is fame too but you can't deny the engineering behind some brands.

Hifi is quite different. There is engineering but it's mainly a marketing and fame business!
Usher audio for example is one of the best brand in the world. When you compare a CP-8571 to a Wilson Sasha 3, you buy the Usher!
Another brand like XTZ for example uses the same drivers you can find on very high end brands for a fraction of the price! How can you explain the difference of price then?
Of course you can argue on the quality of the component and the crossover craft. Usher work with Dc. D'apollito, probably one of the best engineer in Hifi business. And the prices are still lower?!
When you own a Sasha, a B&W 800 or any other high-end speaker, you buy the marketing, the advertising on magazines, the shows... and a lot of FAME! One of my relatives bought a 805Di for the look and fame. When he tried it at home, it was crap! After comparing it with a BE-718, he cried over his bank account!

So anyone can think he own a system only for the performance but, deep inside, there is pride...

Iblieve,

So what you are saying is that if I buy a pair of B&W 805D's, its not because of how they sound, but about other things, like marketing and status?

I am not going to say that a person bought B&W for just the name. But.....I owned the 802N and the 800S. And yes B&W is incomplete. Why? because they do not make and use the best crossovers. I got aware of this because I could compare it with other speakers. I am a perfectionist and only interested in the best. So yes B&W is not able to give the absolute sound. WhY? Because a deep and wide stage ( which B&W cannot give) is an essential part for the absolute sound. This gives an important part in 3-dimensional sound. This is the most stunning and concinving part in highend audio. There is no discussion about this. This is said by a person who player for over 8 years with the best B&W speakers. They make fine speakers, still today. But not the best. It is as it is. It is just as simple as it is!!