Everytime I read a thread discussion how cords sound, my minds eye pictures people sitting around trying to hear what individual cords sound like laying in front of them on the floor. I have not spent much time doing this, but all of my cords have chosen to remain silent when not connected to a complete system.
If I've learned nothing else from this forum, I've learned that the evaluation of any single component is essentially impossible as every connected component, as well as the individual room accoustics, has a vote in the final sound of the system.
My speakers sounded wonderful in the store and even better, to my ears, at my house, but the two sounds were very different. Base on this experience, I don't see how I could ever demo a cord of any type in the store and expect a similar result at home.
Asking for online advice on how something sounds is looking for a tangible answer for an intangible characteristic it seems. Too bad it's about the only way to go unless one can afford to purchase multiples of everything.