Why do digital cables sound different?

I would probably have to agree with the possible theory that differences in cable geometry(or connections) will cause differences in the delicate structure of sound to different degrees.(my theory..and only a theory). I DO FIND that cables sound very very different often, and DO AFFECT THE SOUND MORE DRAMATICALLY IN BETTER MORE RESOLVED SYSTEMS for sure. I am indeed a believer, from working in 5 high end stores, and being around high end audio and custom install for more than 20 years now, that cables make a difference!
I also find that the trend amoung those advocates that cables ALL BASICALLY SOUND THE SAME(if matched from a mechanical impedance standpoint, etc), THEIR SYSTEMS TEND TO ALL SOUND POOR OVERALL!!!
I once had a long conversation with John Dunlavy(Thanks john for the contributions to audio) at his factory about cables. He is an advocate that "CABLES IS CABLES" basically. The irony there is that his systems in his factory where, HANDS DOWN, the single WORST SOUNDING set-up's I've ever heard from a "HIGHER END" speaker manufacturer!!!! Infact, other people touring the factory were asking me why his speakers sounded so bad....I litterally had to defend his speaker's "merits", and say that "I'd gotten much better sound from his speakers elsewhere!"
On another occasion, I was at CES in Vegas a year ago, where I stumbled in to a room set up with Merlin VSM's with some nice high end gear. I asked the guy running the room "what wires and cables are you using?" He actually looked at me and said "you're joking right?"..."surely you don't think cables make a differnce, do you?" I said, "no comment!" I proceeded to listen to the set-up when he started playing the music, and IMMEDIATELY BOLTED UP FROM MY CHAIR!!! Not only did I hear the most bright and analytically sound from any of the rooms I encountered during the trip, but everyone else in the room immediately took issue with the sound as well! I didn't even stop to say anything to him...I think he pondered it all on his own from that point out.
My experiences, basically, is that the "cables-is-cables" advocates, are usually "closed-in" with their thinking, and can't see past their brains!!(limited processor and hardrive I presume...) These are the one's I usually find have the poorest sounding, if even well intentioned, systems!..go figure

Spluta: I was primarily refering to audio and low frequency RF gear. When you start hitting high frequency RF, you can have it. Things can get WAY "squirelly" REAL fast. I can understand that you have to take what you can get in situations like that, as there just aren't a lot of alternatives out there.

Foreverhifi: Out of curiosity, what was Dunlavy running for electronics at their factory ? I would assume that he had his Z-6 speaker cables, but do you know what was used to connect all of the gear ?

This brings up another topic. If the gear / speakers being used within a manufacturer's reference system sounds like "hell" and / or is set up poorly, how is it that they can really tell if something sounds "better" or if they have actually made an improvement to a product during listening tests ??? This is not to pick on John Dunlavy in specific, as i surely respect him for his knowledge and experience. Sean
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Sean,

Can i still have your tax guys number? just kidding.
I agree...audio and high speed are two different worlds
and I do get them confused sometimes...

Forever,

I think you brought up some very good points. The more
i think about it the more im thinking perfect length
of wires might not be ideal for audio. Hmmm.. So what do
you say guys lets sell different lenght MATCHED cables
and get rich?

Best regards

forever, are you saying the reason the systems you site as sounding lousy was because of the attitudes of the owners, or that they chose bad cables? I douby in either case they were using lamp cord

steve.

I am not well read on auditory theory, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that auditory memory is good for a few seconds at most. Also that non-blind tests are statistically worthless since visual clues, foreknowledge and so forth demonstrably invalidate the test. Also, that expectation ("I am now changing the cable") leads to perceived differences in sound (even when the cable is not actually changed). Or do we dismiss this overwhleming scientific evidence under the illogical rubric that music is so very complex and objective undestanding so very limited that subjective experience outweighs it, and hence cables must make a difference?