Do speaker cables really make a difference ?

I was using 10ga speaker wire from the hardware store. I thought it sounded good until I bought more expensive oxygen free copper 10ga Speaker cable. The highs were much more defined. More clarity and detail in the midrange. The bass was about the same, but it seemed as if the amp has better decay and recovery of deep notes changing pitch. It seemed faster responding if that makes sense. My budget is tight so I get what I can afford. I have no idea how much $$ =how much better sound or the cut off $$ before you split hairs? I spent about 2X for the new speaker cable.  All I know in my case the the of speaker  cable did make a difference.

The big problem with all these claims is that few people do proper double blind tests with correct signal levels. This makes almost all tests flawed, and the information that is taken out of these tests meaningless. Nevertheless, the "information" taken out of such tests gets spread.

I have been a professional sound engineer for several decades in one of the biggest recording studios in Switzerland. I've spent a lot of time comparing things (and yes, very expensive things, too). It's very surprising what can be the results of tests. A lot of the time, the results have nothing to do with the gear.

For example, if a signal is slightly louder, you won't perceive that it is louder, but you will likely like it better. And the hearing memory is very short. Our hearing also changes over time. If you have to get up and plug cables etc., you won't be able to tell if the cable sounds different.

A very respected loudspeaker developer told me that they had put needles into a potato and used that as a loudspeaker cable. They couldn't distinguish the sound of the potato from that of the very respected high priced cables.

But if you're happier with a more expensive cable, enjoy it! Your plus of joy is real and will likely have a real effect. And I don't consider it relevant that your referencing the joy to the quality and price of your cable has no base in reality. The joy is real, and that's what matters.

A very respected loudspeaker developer told me that they had put needles into a potato and used that as a loudspeaker cable. They couldn't distinguish the sound of the potato from that of the very respected high priced cables.

Yes, but you neglected to mention that the potato cables used in that comparison are well known to a certain subset of audiophiles as Kartoffel Klassiks, and they perform particulate well with sour cream and chives. 😀

Brilliant Whipsaw lol