I have been following this thread with some interest and amusement. I recently ordered some speaker cables from a company called Mapleshade that made some pretty big claims for their cable. They have a money back policy so I did it more as an experiment than anything else. When my order arrived I looked at these thin, tightly twisted cables and said to myself "Looks like a rip off. Bet I'll be sending these back!".

The results? So obvious it makes claims that cable makes no difference simply laughable to me now. The improved sound shocked and amazed me. My speakers are decent, but not top of the line, although their imaging and soundstage is outstanding. But even that improved. I hear detail in familiar recordings I never heard before. And the bass is much richer, tighter, and more realistic.

The most interesting thing is that my wife did not know I had changed anything. When she walked into the room she asked "What did you do, this sounds more real?". I asked her to describe what she heard and she used phrases like "more open" and "airy". She is not an audiophile by any stretch of the imagination and she heard a difference!

It is not practical for me to do double blind comparisons, although I have done some very fair A/B comparisons between these cables and my Monster cable. I trust my ears. If it is purely power of suggestion than it is the most potent and consistent suggestion I have ever seen (or heard).

Trust your ears.