With all joking aside, I’m confident that from the listening position, a half dozen strategically placed throw pillows can influence sound more than any speaker wire, no matter how much it costs or which direction the arrows are pointing.
It also depends on the resolution of the system. If you have a system that is "more than neutral", it would be easier to hear the difference. When I say "more than neutral", I mean the system sounds brighter than usual.
For example, if you intentionally have the tweeter level more than a few db above the rest of the audio frequency, then any changes in equipment can easily be heard.
And of course having a good hearing also helps.