Maybe it would be easier if I told the story of my first truly high end system. New baby, new house and of course I convinced my wife we needed a proper stereo system! $40k later, I came home with Levinson separates and Dunlavy SC-5’s, all connected with Transparent Ultra cabling. After a week of break in time, the system sounded awesome....should have stopped there actually! At some point I thought, there must be a cheaper cable that can deliver just as good a sound so I could use the profit to try and upgrade my systems components (which were already Reference caliber). Well, what a mistake that was...couldn’t listen anymore, it was that bad. Many years later and much audio money exchanged to try various gear and alternative cables, what do ya think I learned? Some cables can make or break a great system. Secondly, if you have great gear you should probably keep it and resist the urge to try other so called, improved gear...at the top, it’s all pretty great stuff! As for the most rewarding listening experiences I’ve had, I would say that my systems always sounded the most like live music when either Transparent or MIT cables were used. Everything else, to various degrees, may have sounded ok on short sessions, but over time the ear can detect subtle anomalies that can cause you to realize that wire really is wire! Unless of course the cables are truly dealing with aspects of signal transmission that degrade the sound. The difference is quite dramatic and involving.
