Who says cables don't make a difference?

I only use the Indra case as an example I have experienced. As much as Indra was precedent setting then for $6K now eclipsed by Sakra at $12K.
Second rate? It still is my best IC. Maybe someday I can afford a Sakra.

My OP was not intended to sell anyone one on Stealth cables. Although I cannot hide my prejudice toward them. My goal was to give an example IME of the value of cables. Does it not go without saying that Serguei and I limited our trial rooms to the very high end ones with ICs that retail for close to or much more than $6k?Research and development of cables is the same as any component and, perhaps, even more so. It is not the case that a solid 24 carat gold cable transfers of signal best. Cables like top line Stealth take years to develop and have extremely sophisticated architecture.
Would  I pay $6k for a cable or any component, no. AG clearly changed the Audio industry. However, there is a significant slice of the market that does buy retail and will pay top dollar. Regarding “room runners”, I use this term IME doing two California Audio Shows. “Running a room” is the person primarily responsible for speaking and selling in that room. 

I think that any component in a system is dedicated and focused on doing the least damage to the signal from the front end. And even the front end is dedicated to capturing the signal and transmitting it as uncolored as possible. The proverbial “straight wire with gain”. Certainly, there are characteristics of value to some but, certainly with cables, it is the most pure example of the “straight wire” part of the equation. And even the “with gain” part comes in when factoring in any resistance. The ultimate conclusion is that most very expensive cables are, truly, worth every penny.
Strange that most pros only care about whether a cable can come undone and handle long runs by being balanced. However many of the world’s top recording studios put a lot into their playback systems. Skywalker Sound uses top line MIT cabling who make the world’s most expensive speaker cable at $80k!

Thought I might open up a can of worms.
One interesting element is the prejudice factor.
When so called audiophiles say things like “smoke and mirrors”, “pseudoscience”, “my $50 cable sounds the same”, they are doing nothing more than professing their ignorance. They tend to be set in their attitude regardless of enormous objective proof. The true and educated audiophile well understands and knows just how complex and critical cables are to the ultimate performance of any system.It has been wisely pointed out that so many medium to very expensive cables are sold to many intelligent and attuned people. And many companies are very established and successful selling these cables.
Even if I were a very rich man, I would never buy an $80k speaker cable. No, but only because I am an experienced audiophile and know that I can get as good or better for much less. Would I use zip cord lamp wire for my speakers? Yes, for my garage system with an old receiver, etc. Surely, the nature and quality of you system is a critical factor.

 

I love Grocho quotes!
"Saw an elephant in my pajamas yesterday. What he was doing in my pajamas I'll never know."
Specifically, having to show proof after experiencing/seeing G-d.

I miswrote when I mentioned "overwhelming objective proof". I really referred to decades of learning about Audio by reading the magazines, etc. Surely, their reviewers have bias toward certain products. However, surely they also have their most prized asset, their reputation. Even if highly subjective, I believe in a "critical mass" of reviewers, audiophiles and others who have made High End cables a significant part of Audio. I have never read any Audio journalism saying expensive cables are BS.

There are none so blind as those who will not see/hear.

Hard to believe the inane rant that this thread has devolved!
Can’t believe that people still think that cables don’t make a difference... 

Dan2956 and speedbump6,

Interesting 2 sides of the discussion both quite elaborate.
I don’t feel the need to apologize for my bias toward expensive cables with a personal preference for Stealth Audio.
As with ANY component, the goal is to DO NO HARM to the signal.
Great cables do the least harm. THE STRAIGHT WIRE WITH GAIN.
The gain part of the equation in this case being the ability or lack thereof of passing signal. Simply put...

It seems the crux of the cable issue stems from the comparisons of the likes of zip lamp chord and high fidelity cable. If zip chord works why spend a lot of money on “snake oil”?!And why not just get some silver wire and RCAs and build your own ICs for $20?A friend asked me about speaker wire for his old receiver/cheap speaker workshop system. I told him to use zip chord. That if he had  a system that cost thousands I would recommend expensive cables.
That it would not make much difference in his system and he would hear things fine. We obsessive audiophiles want to get the most out of our systems.
Good cables do not make a system sound better, per se. They allow one to hear the most out of components. I have spent thousands on my components carefully compiled over many years and want to reap the most out of my investments.  For me, by far, the bottom line is what I subjectively hear not measurements. That is, by far, the great fun of this great hobby!

If my fault that my OP comments about company owners and others who made/make their living on being able to hear differences between components helped to devolve this otherwise civil Forum discussion into personal mud slinging, I am sorry.
Surely most on the Forum can and have recognized and respected the wise words and posts of Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere. A true gentleman and voice of decades as a professional in Audio.
I don’t wish to draw Ralph into this checkered thread. Only wish to point out that there is a significant difference between us hobbyists and the professionals. Speaking generally, professionals in the Audio Industry must have an educated and highly refined “ear”. When I spoke of Audio professionals being flabbergasted by the performance of one particular IC over another, I only wanted to point out the general professional perspective on this subject.

@kennycThank you for coming back to the subject of the OP.
And, especially, for your clear enumeration of the factors that must be considered in cable design. Certainly each different type of component always has distinct and important factors that must be considered. Cable design is, perhaps, different but as complex.
And to accomplish designing a cable that is truly transparent is difficult, time consuming and expensive. And to briefly go back to the critical mass of end users and reviewers, so many intelligent and aware people can not be discounted or ignored.

“Continue to beat the drum... why?” To paraphrase. It is, obviously, a controversy. The prejudice surely goes both ways. However, those who are opposed to expensive cables ignore the fact that cables are an established part of our Industry. A direct analogy escapes me but, loosely, is a Chevy just as good as a Rolls Royce. Yes, they both transport and do a good job but, obviously, the Roller does so in a considerably more sophisticated manner. Is it worth the money? Quality and value is in the ear of the beholder.