Are cables really worth their high price because of their geometry?

The claims of these cable manufacturers with regards to their proprietary geometries, materials, processes' effects on sound quality (ie holography) would be a lot more useful and credible if they told you what level or type of audio system was required to fully express them. Selling "holographic" cables for an unknown or mediocre system is like selling specialty racing motor oil for your Toyota corolla. I guess everyone wants to believe they can turn their system into a racecar with the right cable setup. It's just so freaking silly! 

^^^ I agree.  As I said before that the cable budget should be proportional to the overall system cost.  If you only have a low end system, then Belden cables or even some zip cords should be OK.  But if your system costs north of 20K or so, then you really need some high end cables so to bring out the best of your system.

Increased metal purity adds to the cost, as well as custom dielectrics.  Beyond the basic and hand woven geometries, machine manufacturing can be quite expensive to set-up/run small batches for the very small high-end audio market.  Take a look at the construction of Nordost cables for instance.

Mr. kennyc

Copper purity: 
The industry standard for cooper used in electricity is 99.98%
All left to improve between the standard cable (99.98%) and the absolute purity (do not exist!) of 100% is 0.02%
No matter how much is that cost, or if there is any truth in that claim, as who can check it, but 0.02% of purity, if equals in 0.02% in conductivity, it is an absolute waist if money. Put it in a thicker cable! You will pay less and gain way more.

Same BS with silver cables vs cooper cables.
Silver is a better conductor, over cooper, by 5%. But as last week crude metal prices, it's 104 times more expensive. Put a thicket cooper cable by 5% and you get an equivalent of the silver cable.
But you will pay so much less.

All those arguments, of desperate cable makers, are BS. they may justify charging a leg and an arm for those says, but they add nothing to your sound. The sad truth is, that they have no idea what cable we need. They make a few but never said which out of their line is the one that will be best for me or you.
I can! the cable can be calculated and when applied, sound improves dramatically. The explanation for why that cable is scientific.