Do expensive cables/wires REALLY make a difference

Mrtennis wrote,

"It's all in the mind."

That's a rather big matzo ball hanging out there. Just curious, is that comment intended to convey the idea that differences among cables are all psychological? In other words, that differences can be explained by the Placebo Effect or Expectation Bias or even the Nocebo Effect? Do you think that other audio devices, components and speakers are all in the mind, too?

Yes. No question. You have to find the right cables for your system, room dynamics etc. I personally prefer staying with one companies cable at a time as this seems to sound best. Sure, cable companies make huge profits, but there are some really smart guys out there doing real r&d every day with real science, engineering, craftsmanship etc. I doubt, for the most part, that these are sleazy people in back rooms laughing at fools willing to throw money away. They're trying to run companies, feed their families and go home feeling like decent human beings, so even though it's expensive they're putting in their time. That being said, if retail is too painful, that's what Agon is for. Get serial #'s and make sure your not buying bootleg. I generally avoid anything coming from China, Asia, sorry, just my opinion based on experience. Companies would rather you buy retail but will usually confirm a cables authenticity if you ask nicely and they are high end enough to mark their cables with #'s.
Spend as much as you can hide from your wife and enjoy.

@rpnz  Let sleeping dogs lie.

I suspect that one of the problems here results from the fact that a little bit of research yields very different suggestions/ideas/products and therefore, confusion.... Here is a quote from Sanders Sound.. " At Sanders Sound Systems, we make no extravagant or false statements about our cables and interconnects. We do not claim that they sound any better than any other well-designed product out there. Our speaker cables are specifically designed NOT to alter the frequency response or sound quality of your loudspeakers. We believe that the speaker manufacturer knows how to get the best sound from their speakers and that we should not interfere with their design.  We offer two distinctly different types of speaker cable. One is for driving electrostatic loudspeakers and the other is for driving magnetic loudspeakers".


OK....how can you argue with the idea that each manufacturer of speakers or electronics that also sells their own cables would sell the cables that go best with what they make.  In that light....here are links to 4 different cables being offered by companies that primarily make speakers or electronics...and as you will see, the cables are all different from each other...and different from what you see being offered by the high end cable sellers.  No doubt, if you are considering upgrading/changing your cables, you will be more confused after you check these links.

http://sanderssoundsystems.com/products/speaker-cables-and-interconnects/speaker-cables

https://www.cherryamp.com/product-page/6-speaker-snakes-pair

https://www.decware.com/newsite/speakercables.htm

http://gr-research.com/b-6speakercables-2.aspx