Who thinks $5K speaker cable really better than generic 14AWG cable?

I don’t understand nonoise’s comment - the OP stated that "It’s a blind test..."

There are cables that will change your life -- they are made by Confirmation Bias Cable Co. and they are the absolute best cables.

No, there are at least four variables - your eyes, or your expectation that a very expensive item should sound better than a cheaper one.

That is why at least a single blind test is required.

I don't think anyone will dispute that speaker cables can sound different (esp. with electrostatic speakers) as opposed to interconnects.

The questions are [1] whether X sounds BETTER than Y speaker cable, and if so, then [2] can you achieve that with EQ.

The problem is that gullible consumers are being taken advantage of by fraudsters.

OTOH, if you have electrostatics, then you really can use over-priced speaker cables as very expensive tone controls.

yeh, not much profit on 16 ga. speaker wire

the analogy to light in the sky is way off base

aspects of wire construction beyond the fundamental electronic properties that affects how waves of varying frequency propagate exist but only affect RF frequencies

electrostatic speakers present complex impedance loads and the sound will change based on capacitance and inductance in the wires - that doesn't mean the sound is better

this does not apply to Maggies or to most electrodynamic speakers

I won't say that speaker cabling is the most injurious and fraudulent audiophile product however.  That 'crown' is shared among interconnects and various tweaks.

wire or cable effects will be LESS significant in interconnects than speaker wires

anyone who understands physics or even rel. basic electronics will figure this out - the freq.s involved are simply too high to hear

the only other possibility is that a very high (usually RF) freq. will be injected into a component - if that affects the sound then the component would have to have a very odd design; most likely a design by someone who is not very competent

The controversy arises mainly by greedy charlatans (one of whom trolls this forum) who are able to convince well-off but unsophisticated consumers to buy their over-priced cables.  There is also the confusion among electrostatic speaker owners who do hear differences from different speaker cables, and electrodynamic speaker owners who are likely not hearing differences, but do not do blind testing.

In general, run digital as far as you can; run interconnects in fully balanced mode to the amps, and keep speaker cables as short as possible (amps close to speakers).  Use good quality Cu wire of at least 14 gauge (almost everything  is "oxygen free) anyway, so that is not a worry).  Belden has been making quality wires of all types for a very long time.  China is known for food, martial arts, culture, and philosophy -- not (yet?) for quality consumer products...

The big SQ increases come from good speakers, room treatments, and quality masterings of source materials.  After that, select an amp that can really control your speakers and their impedance curve.  Pre-amps, DACs, etc. will prove to be less rewarding on a cost/benefit curve (tho I do like my ARC pre-amp).

If you have already spent $70,000 on your speakers, built a new listening room, and done everything above, then it is time to buy different speaker cables from a place that allows returns.  Evaluate on a selected subset of your music library for esp. difficult issues where the recording & mastering is known to the be of the highest quality using double-blind testing.  Once your speaker cabling is as you desire, you can then waste time on interconnects.

if the above is too much trouble then just buy a green pen and use it to treat the edges of your eyelids.

people can be intelligent, and get duped into giving excessive money for a product that cannot possibly "work as advertised" when they lack technical knowledge

and I suspect that includes most audiophiles - science & engineering majors are less likely to get duped than an otherwise intelligent liberal arts or business major

placebo man is a good moniker for him

Explain why the Quote below is true.  No woo-woo -- stick to the known laws of physics.

"As for all those miles and miles of cable that are before that outlet and all the nasty and negative effects it's subjected to, it has nothing to do with what you're taking "from" the wall. That is the starting point. The only thing that matters is taking what's right there at the outlet and making sure you get the best out of it."

Since you cannot do that, I will also give you an alternative that does NOT require a mechanism:
  Just describe the methodology and results of your scientifically valid listening test showing the difference  in SQ.

does silver make the cable sound better?

or just enhance your expectation bias?

listen for themselves with their ears?

or listen for themselves with their eyes?

zip cord will work for most dynamic speakers - keep it rel. fat and short

another adv. of monoblocks

if you are wowed by the placebo effect, put it inside a tube fo mapleshady and spray it with a graphene splackle

don't forget the elevators!!!!

my Audio Research and Magnepan gear doesn’t care about interconnects (or even the cables to the speakers; nor did my Sonic frontiers

it is easy to test - you just have a friend help you with a blind listening test

or you can continue to waste money on visual bling - troll kait would love to sell you some

no one is bashing those who hear differences in cables for dynamic speakers

... only those who are deluded by confirmation bias into thinking their perception is caused by differences in sound

post your double-blind methodology you used in testing or learn something about reality (here's a hint: you will not find it in your liberal arts major)

I'd agree if it was a dbl blind test with adequate sample size to be statistically significant.

I've never seen any for interconnects, and bet I never will.

Speaker cables can change the sound of speakers with odd impedances.

What cables does Warren Buffett use?

tone and "speed" are not hard to measure - for speaker cables you need to consider the complex nature of most loads (drivers)

for interconnects, use balanced cables to avoid picking up any RFI and grounding issues

for USB cables the situation is more complex and a 'box' that addresses grounding, noise, and the ability to regenerate a properly clocked signal may have benefits

you really need some IEEEs who work on digital circuits in your family

AND... a double-blinded test with adequate statistical power is an issue for any putative differences "heard"

people who don't understand science are often spouting off on these forums, but worse is they are the lawful prey of consumer fraudists who sell them pseudo-technical sounding gibberish and expensive, but unproven, cables

and... if you are thinking about an expensive AC power cord, buy a power conditioner instead

One thing that has changed is knowledge about the effects of noise injection.  Some cables in some places will affect that more than others, tho the real solution is to use better isolation techniques.

The effects of speaker cables on complex loads has indeed not changed in the last 20 years, tho many don't understand it.

In either case there is no reason at all to throw $5k at it - which was the point made by the OP.

 you measure "speed" with a scope

- duh

cd318 put it very well

no reason to debate with someone who doesn't know anything