Can hi-end cables benefit less expensive electronics?


Some time ago, there was a guy on a Polish hi-end forum claiming that in his case it was better to buy some hi-end power chord than investing in a more expensive CD player. Has anybody had an experience where they invested in an expensive cable and felt the investment justified without upgrading the unit utilising the cable? Overall, would there possibly be any point in buying some expensive cable to feed electronics nearly the cost of the cable itself? I'm currently using a KT88 amplifier with a Metronome CD8 (which is also used as DAC) plus Metronome DSS as the streamer (transport only). Speakers: Franco Serblin Accords. In my case, an upgrade in electronics would involve spending at least USD 15,000 to make it sensible. But I can also spend much less and buy a Transparent XL Digital cable to replace my DIY cable that I currently use, at a much smaller expense. Is a high-end digital cable in some cases able to make it a worthwhile investment in a setup which is not top hi-end? I can afford the Transparent XL digital cable, but not necessarily any upgrade to the electronics I own. Has anybody experienced an improvement with an expensive cable even if the rest of the system would rather call for a less expensive one? When I wrote to Transparent about it, they said I should get advice from my dealer. Cable naysayers please do not comment. Also I'm not looking for cheaper alternatives to the Transparent XL. Just fancying buying a cable that many people say is an excellent cable. Of course, I do not expect the same improvement with this cable as with a full DCS Vivaldi setup, but am I likely to get an improvement, considering that the system is balanced and nothing really bothers me in it? Or should I absolutely get a cheaper cable because the more expensive one is bound to make things worse? 

serblinfan

I just thought that perhaps I should make things more clear: Am I likely to benefit from Transparent Audio Digital XL replacing a DIY Furutech cable (albeit with top-of-the-line connectors)? And I'm speaking of any minor improvement. Do not consider the cost of the investment. 

Another alternative is to buy a new DAC, though, like the Metronome C8+, but this is a bigger investment, and eventually I'm hoping to get MSB Discrete once I can afford it. 

In my honest opinion, you will see more benefit if you match the equipment to the cabling.

In other words, an expensive cable probably won’t bring anything else out of a cheaper piece of equipment.

IMO, expensive pieces of equipment do seem to benefit from better cabling.

They have to compliment each other.

I would definitely think the equipment you are currently running would benefit from higher end cabling. Now, getting it to sound "right" to you might take a little experimentation.