DO CABLES REALLY MATTER?

Good points. Unfortunately they only reinforce my position that demos, tests, shoot-outs, blind tests, etc. are unreliable especially if the results are NEGATIVE. And it doesn’t matter if the tests/demos/shoot-outs are fast, slow, over the course of hours or days, or whatever. They are still unreliable. Otherwise any group of all thumbs hearing challenged pseudo skeptics would be the arbiters of sound, which they actually aren’t. And while it’s a shame you personally aren’t able to distinguish certain differences in wire, direction, etc. those results should not be extrapolated to generalize about anyone else.

+1 prof! Thank you again for your cogent thoughtful response!

You forgot to add, “But I have nothing cogent or thoughtful to say, myself.”

There you go, again. 

Cables do matter. Don't fall for the pickled red herring of red herrings that once some old, run of the mill cable is used to record something that a better made cable can't be any better at retrieving more info. That you can't get any more out of it with a better cable presupposes that something happened to the info when recorded, using the older cable.

About 100% of the signal is/was passed by the older cable (unless you're running 50' of speaker cable or 150' of interconnects)) only to be masked by it's inferior design during recording and playback using the same cable. It didn't eat it, or absorb it, so where did the signal go? Does the older cable look like a boa digesting a goat?

The music residing in that recording is there even if it came across on some run of the mill Belden cable. The better cable will reveal more of it. And it doesn't need to be expensive. Just take a look at what one ex Belden engineer designed over at Cabledyne (their entry level speaker cable). I, myself, use Tempo Electric speaker cables and the only real cost is in the silver used and the gauge necessary to get what I like out of it, and it's as simple a cable as one can get.

And, if you get that lower noise floor, freeing up more info to make it more enjoyable and realistic, that minute amount is across the board in any and all ways you chose to look at it adding up to a bigger and more satisfying amount of appreciation in what you hear.

You guys who say otherwise need a better argument.

All the best,
Nonoise