I hesitate to comment on this post as it seems to have devolved into a lot of name calling instead of thoughtful reasoned discussion. I agree with kalali that the answer to the OP has to do with the recordings. Am curious if the OP used the same recordings to compare the difference in the sound. Additionally would be helpful to know what the recordings are.
With respect to the general discussion about whether or not one hears a difference in cables and that there have not been any "scientific" papers published that can elaborate / quantify said difference. I believe this to be an ongoing debate, and is that not what science is all about?
If we did not hear differences in the way audio gear reproduces music / sound then we would all have the same audio gear. I may be wrong but I believe the impetus for HP starting TAS was from listening to a pair of Bose 901's and not liking their sound. Additionally, that even with measurements posted in competing magazines they could not fully explain the differences in sound.
I can only speak for myself and will give two examples. The first one being when cd's were introduced. The hype was "perfect sound forever". A friend of mine had purchased a mid-level cd player and had a reasonably good sounding analog system. After listening to several cd's my comment was that I found the sound "irritating". He did not.
At the time I did not know why, but I knew what I heard and it informed my opinion of what cd's sounded like. With further reading, studying, listening and analysis we now know why there was a difference in the sound. That difference may not be noticeable or objectionable to some but to others it is. My friend and I have a difference of opinion but we are still friends.
The second example deals with power conditioning. I had been reading a lot about how power can influence the sound of an audio system. At the time I was very skeptical of this and did not really believe it could make that much of a difference. I work in a scientific field and a division of ours installs diagnostic equipment. I was discussing these articles with a colleague of mine in that department and he told me that the biggest issue they have with our machines is the power grid. "Dirty power" as he termed it has a dramatic impact on the sensitivity of the equipment and they routinely have to install power conditioning devices in order for the equipment to function properly. They loaned me one of the power conditioners to take home and try out in my system.
After setting everything up I was quite surprised at the difference in the sound. My system at the time did not have any expensive power cords, interconnects or speaker cables. And yet there was a noticeable improvement in the sound so much so that even my wife, who only casually listens to music, heard the difference.
The point of these two examples is that some people will hear a difference and some will not. Some people will want to purchase items that to their ears will make a difference in the sound. The good news is there are a lot of us that hear a difference and want to try and improve our sound systems.
Full disclosure of my bias over a period of years I have upgraded my PC, Interconnects and Speaker cables to Siltech G6 with SATT Emperor, Compass Lake, Forbes Lake, Avondale, and SPX Power Cords.
