Cables more hype than value?

Yes. Valuable but way more hype than warranted.

Ebm has a healthy attitude I think when it comes to these things......

No doubt for me cables can and often do sound different. But not always. No rule says they will or must. I think there are probably ways to quantify how they might in electrical terms to back it up. Almarg, an experienced EE with an interest, is the best I have seen here at doing that based on principles of EE.

IS there a scientific study that supports this? Maybe but I have not seen one. Still the theory is consistent with what I hear so I can accept it.

Also no doubt that vendors hype their products based on the supposed "fact" that wires CAN sound different. Each has their own science or pseudo-science or perhaps "fantasy" to explain how their unique "innovation" works. Some are more plausible, some are less.

In the end, when one is able to predict resulting sound based on its design, and the predictions can be statistically or mathematically demonstrated as being better than if done randomly, we will have something to sink our teeth into. We could have a long wit though. Meanwhile, may the better ears win.

There is no doubt I can hear clearly identifiable differences between using MIT terminator versus DNM Reson ICs in my main rig, in particular between amp and pre-amp. These are night and day in design and concept, so I would attribute it to that, an extreme case perhaps.

With most other applications in my gear, differences are more subtle, in some cases minor or not significant enough for me to take notice or care. Like most things, its not a night/day, yes/no thing to answer. Its a matter of magnitude on some relative scale, with differences ranging from very significant to insignificant.

I even believe two fuses can sound different for many reasons, however I do not care enough about it to spend any time investigating. As long as my gear is good and in good operating condition, that's good enough for me. YMMV of course.

Some people have more specific expectations than others. When you are listening for a very specific sound, you are more likely to note any differences. That alone might account for it. That and/or the fact that not all wires necessarily sound very different. There is not a whole lot of difference in design and concept behind many.

No doubt high end audio vendors do love to make mountains out of mole hills sometimes.

I remember the days when we just sold customers buying good systems 12 gauge speaker wire and called it a day. Then came "Monster" cables. Scary! Then the floodgates opened.

Al, you are a knowledgeable and unbiased breath of fresh air and always welcome. I share your opinions regarded wires and such pretty much without exception.

I am about to try my first explicit power wire update experiment ever.

The insulation on power cord to my DAC is a bit frayed near the connector, so I am using that as an excuse to replace it and see if I can do better.

So I have ordered a $200+ Pangea cord that is on sale for $70 currently.

My justification for picking that particular cord is I want top try something that is designed to work well with digital that should produce some improvement/change of significance over my current stock cord which is heavy duty and well suited for an amp perhaps but nothing special for digital.

FOr digital, shielding against both emmission of noise through the wire by the digital DAC and reception of noise from other nearby wires/devices (which I know can be a problem with my setup based on history) is the main technical benefit I can see on paper with this particular power cord.

I'll report back when I get it and have a chance to assess.

Old news somewhat but I did notice an improvement with the Pangea power cord on both my DACs and on my ARC sp-16 pre-amp as well but to a lesser extent.

I employed isolation as best possible prior. Adding shielding in my case was worthwhile as it turns out. And the Pangea's did not break the bank in the process. So I can easily recommend them to potentially add teh advertised benefits. Not to say they or any other product always will in each individual case, but they seem to do what is advertised at least in my cases which is all one can ask for.

I've found very good cable options for modest price.

If these did not fit the bill, I would consider spending more, but I am not inclined to do that. I get hours and hours of listening pleasure every week out of a very modest investment in wires.

So my advice is stick to the most common well reviewed (by user) options for modest cost to start. Consider changing and maybe paying somewhat more only if good reason. You should find something that works well for modest cost.

last thing I would recommend is to spend a fortune out of teh gate on any wires thinking that will solve all your problems. It almost certainly will not and you may find you have change yet again later once the real issues at hand have been addressed.

So basically, walk before you run, don't jump into teh deep end without testing the waters first, etc., all those good old cliche good practices that tend to almost always work best, including for getting the good sound you want.

Lastly, be very cautious of anyone who tells you wires are the main key to good sound. They will likely contribute as a tweak to get you to a better place perhaps but alone can do little.