I guess you guys can at least tell the best IC cable you've ever used so far among others, either best value cables or best regardless of the cost.
Since the OP was considering a piece of wire that retails for $1000+/meter, and from the tone of the question, I would not have guessed he was looking for "best value".
I don't know about "snake oil" but I would say that cables is in the land of extreme diminishing returns for your investment and where you are paying largely for exclusivity, R&D, hype, and advertising. If one were to view it solely as the markup of the actual materials the numbers would make most people ashamed in some cases. If your system and room are not well sorted out, and made up of very resolving components, such investments may prove to provide little or no dividends.
There are many exceptions to those cables I assumed the OP was asking about, and other threads that point to small makers who are putting out products that have a dedicated following among users who have otherwise tried the boutique wires the OP seems to be focusing on. Among those; Grover Huffman cables, Reality Cables, Signal Cables, Blue Jeans, DH Labs, and there are certainly others. Some of those manufacturers have a trial period as well. I have no doubt at all that some of these choices could be every bit as good, and even better, than choices costing far more $. They could also, of course, sound worse. Again, Albert steered the OP straight - try out examples (thoroughly burned-in) yourself in the system you'll actually use them in and make your own decision. Not a bad idea to try some of the smaller manufacturers above. You may save some significant $.
