tmsrdg,
I'm not turning the thread in to a cable debate. I don't want to go in to any depth on cables 'n stuff in this thread. That's why I made such a short comment.
But on the subject of merely talking about these things, I believe you have an imbalanced and biased sense of proportion: I simply added my voice to anyone else's opinions on the subject.
Why is, for instance, your opinion to be the default - automatically favored over mine? Why is your experience to be seen as veridical, and a relevant data point, but mine and my experience counts for nothing?
Why is it any less "tedious" to hear a constant throng of "every material sounds different/all cables/tweaks change the sound?" With no counterpoint to it?
This hobby comprises audiophiles who have a range of opinions and experience supporting those opinions. Why should your own version be the default, which can be explicated over and over, yet someone more on the continuum of being skeptical (for good reasons) should just sit down and shuddup?
When someone asks about cables, or in this case particularly about spending money on transports and which server "sounds best," he is sure to get many opinions about how to spend that money. I'm simply adding in one other perspective "you *might* want to consider that you are considering quite a lot of money for something that is controversial and for which the claims can be fairly dubious.*
It was people who added that voice to discussions like this who helped folks like me figure out where allocating my money made the most sense. No one has to do as I do. But it's good to hear other viewpoints, rather than live in an echo-chamber IMO.
BTW, you might consider dialing back the insults ("cognitively challenged" analogy). Doesn't help anything.
Cheers.