For those audiophiles following this thread and are still on the fence as to what to believe, there is no easy-to-grasp one answer fits all. Some cables in fact do not make a difference, regardless of their cost; some do, but in very small degrees of improvement; others degrade the signal, to audible effect; some are good enough to hear the jump in sound quality enough not to want o live without; some listeners, as with the way they see, listen very very well, while just as many others are not as able to catch or observe things they see or hear; most cables cannot be spoken of in isolation of the systems they sit in, together with the impedances that come before or after, as they are part of a profound relationship of the entire signal chain; the rare few do perform at such a high level, the entire signal chain may matter less.
The first vital thing in all this, is that the effect of all cables, however impactful one may feel their improvement to sound in their system, is often considerably smaller and subtle in relation to everything else to be considered in a system. The second vital thing is, commonly, regardless of how small the difference may be, its specific nuance of difference to sound realism can be so great, it cannot be unheard if one has sufficiently developed listening ability to discern that difference.
The last vital thing is in being very honest knowing what kind of a listener you are, and if developing better listening skills while putting effort to understanding the specific signal chain making up your entire system, is worth the time and passion in your quest for hearing the sheer realism of reproduced sound in playback equipment. If indeed it is not worth your time and money, it would be obviously silly to put money into equipment, cables or anything one does not hear the benefit of. Sit back, calm down, and don’t waste your time trying to persuade others to be like you - it is perfectly ok not to driven by the pursuit of the highest levels of sound realism.
But if your passion drives your chase of the dragons tail in this crazy and wonderful hobby of ours, know it will be a very very difficult journey, fraught with countless demos, experiments, frustrating moments, and wasteful decisions, as there as so many variables and relationships in any signal chain to consider. There is no easy road here. Just know the journey will be absolutely worth its while.
In friendship - kevin