Do speaker cables really make a difference ?

@jasonbourne52 

I'm sceptical of cable claims too.  But not such a flat-earther as to say speaker cables make no difference.  If you can hear an improvement in a bliind test then spend a bit of money on speaker cables but never nearly as much as on an active component such as speakers, amps, source.  A few $100 maybe.  Always test blind; never give in to confirmation bias.

But mains cables and fuses cannot make any difference as long as they are correctly rated.  Volts is volts, amps is amps, but cable can change the presentation of a complex musical waveform.

The confirmation bias story I like best:

A man was walking in Manhattan with a bag of salt slung over one shoulder.  Every few yards he took a pinch and threw it over his left shoulder.  Someone came up to him and asked him why he was doing it.

'Keeps the elephants away.'

'But there aren't any elephants for miles around here.'

'Effective, isn't it.'