Speaker Cables? why all the hype for expensive speaker wire?

That's some theory...

Best IC and speaker cables I have used were the Synergistic Research Designers Reference 2 with active shielding.  Ended up selling them to go on the cable merry go round.  Ultimately I sold all the expensive stuff and went with Wywires blue for IC and some DIY type speaker cable.  Good bang for the buck, but miss those synergistic cables 

The fact that someone posts "only" $1195 shows how ridiculous the brainwashing has become.

Amen.

Cables are system and listener dependent. In some audio systems it is worth moving up from copper to copper/silver or to just silver to reveal more of the musical message and adjust tonality. Some listeners have better hearing and are able to discern finer details. They will notice the differences for sure. Most times the improvement is not correlated with the price paid, but as small as the improvement is it will better your musical experience. One can build relatively cheap a cable to receive 90% of the musical message, but if you want to capture another 8 - 10% you will have to spend a lot more money. Is the price justified? Perhaps yes if you have the passion and the money. Think how much you will spend going to live concerts instead of listening at home.