I always enjoy reading what Prof has to say, even though I don't agree with everything he has to say about audio cables. Like Prof, though, my views are not at either extreme in the cable wars because I can't afford to buy super-expensive cables and I don't think that we've figured out the right things to measure in order to be able to rely on measurements alone to know how audio equipments sounds. So I'm not either a price-no-object audiophile or a pure "objectivist."
I currently have Canare speaker wire (which I terminated myself) connected to my five Thiel PowerPoints in my basement HT system, and I use a range of Belden interconnects with that system. The sound I get with tv and movies in my HT system is very clear and listenable, and I have no burning desire to replace what I have with more expensive cables. However, I have tried a range of cheap to moderately priced cables in my 2-channel system in my living room, and I have had to go slightly beyond my usual "BlueJeans budget" to be happy with the sound from my PS Audio amps and Thiel 2.2 speakers. I'm currently using moderately priced Straight Wire speaker cable and Cardas interconnects.
I respect that Prof has actually listened to many expensive cables and likes his Thiels with Belden wire from BlueJeans cable "better" than may high-priced systems. What that tells me is that he actually hears some differences between systems with different cables, though I don't know if he's tried some of those expensive wires with his own Thiels. Regardless, I'm completely fine with his willingness to use his own ears and reasoned judgment to decide what cables to use with his system.
Here's where my perspective is a little different. Prof suggests that he prefers using his "neutral-performance" BlueJeans cable rather than searching for cables to function as tone controls, but I take the view that every cable functions as a tone control in some way. Belden cables are certainly not immune to having that issue, and I would not regard them as any more neutral than more expensive cables.
Interestingly, BlueJeans Cable has recently started to offer the Iconoclast line of cables, which has been designed by a now-retired Belden engineer who believed that he could improve on the stock Belden speaker wire and interconnects by making cables that both measured and sounded better. Belden is now making these cables, although the challenges of building the new designs make the cables more expensive. I have not heard them yet in my system, but I hope to at some point to see if they are worth the extra cost for me. It's interesting that even Belden engineers think that their cables can be improved upon.
In my experience, cables can sound different - even when tested blindly - but different is not always better, and system synergy and personal preference play a large role in making cable choices.
