will different lengths affect sound

Of course they will. Point is if you can hear it. And that depends. I doubt that anyone can in case one cable is 6ft and another 8ft. But..maybe someone can. I cannot.

That's right. If you wear waxed Dior - everything is possible.

Douglas, one does not need $100k system to clearly hear the difference between 1M and 2M interconnects; it gets a little tougher, at least for me, comparing 0.5M and 1M interconnects. Also, I suppose it depends on particular cable. But no I didn't compare 0.5M, 1M and 2M Purist Dominus or something like that. So, I think the general answer would be - it depends.