Wow, here is an emotionally charged issue! Still, I will wade in. Audiophiles are music aficionados, and chase an elusive quest . . . to be able to put music on and feel as if the band (or orchestra) is right in front of you. The fact of the matter is that that elusive goal is not only a function of the equipment, but also the room acoustics, the listener's position in the room and the listener's hearing. So there are uncontrollable variables that are different for every situation. A high end system will usually sound great compared to a "lower end" system, but one "high end" system might sound much better to one person in one listening room than it would sound in another. The source material is also a factor. One extremely well-recorded piece might sound amazing on a "high end" system, while most recordings -- which are not so great -- sound like crap because the defects in the source are more boldly displayed. I listen to a lot of old jazz and classic rock. With few exceptions, like Dark Side of the Moon or Wish You Were Here, many of those albums were poorly recorded and a high end system painfully displays that.
The other significant issue, and one that many fall prey to, is the subjectivity of the system synergy between components and cabling and maybe even power.
Finally, when someone says that he or she is "blown away" by a new interconnect, speaker cable or even component, that probably means that the listener can hear an audible difference. Speaking from personal experience, I believe that speaker cables make a difference. I like some better than others in my system. Have I been "blown away?" No. I switched power amps when I had to get my 2 channel amp serviced. There was definitely a difference in soundstage when I switched.
Are audiophiles therefore gullible for chasing that difference? Probably not. However, is that difference worth $10,000 more, $20,000 more or $50,000? I guess that depends on how much money you have to blow and what you listen to. I am comfortable shelling out $2k for a 2 channel preamp, but is a $5K preamp that much better? When I have more disposable income, I am more willing to chase minor improvements. So its more a question of willingness to blow money to chase those marginal improvements than gullibility.
That all being said, its impossible to rely on one audiophile's opinion versus another. The true test of whether something is worth shelling out the cash for is how it sounds in your system to YOUR ears. That concludes this rant . . . :)
