There are many valid points being made here, but i think some of the data is being misinterpreted. Obviously, what i posted above was just my point of view. Since we are sharing our points of view, why stop there ? : )
I've mentioned before that many manufacturers cling to one type of geometry for their entire product line i.e. their interconnects, speaker cables, power cords, etc... all use the same basic or extremely similar geometry and philosophy. That's where most of the problems come from.
Each electrical interphase ( component to component, AC outlet to component, amp to speaker, etc... ) has different electrical characteristics. They therefore require different design criteria for optimum power transfer / minimal signal loss characteristics. Obviously, this requires knowing how to juggle all of the variables involved and making some personal decisions as to what one thinks are the most important aspects of signal conduction.
In some cases, minimal signal loss is NOT what is most desirable, so that can also be designed into the product via juggling conductor geometry, dielectric absorption, etc... Once again, this requires an intimate knowledge of how things work, both alone and in conjuction with other materials, and personal decisions as to what the primary design goals are.
On top of that and / or outside of that, certain cable geometries / dielectric materials contribute to cable rigidity. Increased cable rigidity increases cable microphony i.e. the cables acting as microphones and introducing random distortions into the signal. This microphonic distortion introduces a random low level haze, increasing the noise floor, reducing micro-dynamics, reducing focus, etc...
Bare in mind that these distortions can be generated physically ( cables laying on top of devices that transfer energy into them ) or acoustically ( high spl's vibrating air-suspended cables, etc ).
How cables deal with vibration / microphony is a complex subject that many "audiophile approved" manufacturers have never studied or looked into. Many EE's don't believe that microphony is a problem in anything but an utterly defective cable, but i'm not of that opinion. I've seen and experienced very measurable microphonic differences in what one would normally consider to be "good" cabling.
Outside of OR on top of that, some cable geometries are more / less resistant to RFI / EMI induced interference. This type of interference is typically found to introduce high frequency smearing aka sibilance, hardness or brightness into the system. Depending on the degree of the interference and how susceptable the gear is to RF induced noise, some of the aforementioned problems can be perceived as increased brilliance, increased detail, extended treble response by the uneducated ear.
On the other hand, someone used to listening to this phenomena, and having the RFI / EMI reduced or removed from the system, may think that the system now sounds soft, dull, dark, muted or lacking in treble response. In all actuality, the system is now more linear with a truer response, it is their perception that is distorted.
Outside of OR on top of that, there's always the impedance related issues that are involved. Depending on the stability of the gear / circuitry involved, the various aspects of performance i.e. amplitude linearity, frequency response, transient response, distortion characteristics, etc... can be effected.
It should also be noted that any / all of these variations can be random at nature depending on the design of the gear and the impedances that they are presented with. Since the impedance that each cable introduces into the system is placed in series with the impedances of the connecting circuitry, different cables of varying impedances can introduce quite a few variables into the same component based system.
These are but three variables that can alter cable sonics. As previously mentioned, unless ALL of the variables are controlled in phenomenally tight fashion, the differences in cabling / system interaction are typically the result of multiple varaibles, not just one.
This is a PHENOMENALLY complex subject, that obviously can't be resolved in a thread like this. As far as i can see, we need to keep learning and sharing if we are to make any progress in this specific area. Sean
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