Speaker Cables? why all the hype for expensive speaker wire?

Well, different cables may sometimes *sound* different, but "do they sound better" is a separate question. If one has just spent mega-bucks on a length of wire one is going to be strongly inclined to *think* they sound better. In any case, de gustibus...

Really. Look, rather than spending ridiculous money on an intrinsically dubious item, invest that money in top quality active speakers. Then run any decent professional quality balanced cables to those speakers. I promise you that you’ll never look back. For several reasons, modern active speakers almost always give one significantly more "bang for the buck." Part of that is because they require significantly less gear (no amp or fancy speaker cables) as well as much less fiddling and fooling around. Then spend the time and money you save enjoying the music. Or is that not what this is all about?

Oh, heck. The Romans had this all figured out two millenniums ago: "De gustibus et coloribus non disputandum est!"