Forget cables as snakeoil. There's a new snake King in town.

I thought fancy fuses were it?

Oops I said the F word...

 That's a riot!!

My take on "snake oil" might be in the minority? The people marketing/selling and even the reviewer media are much more responsible for creating "snake oil" than the product itself. Every piece of audio gear has a potential or a ceiling to its performance level. Assembling a complete system where 95% + potential of each component is extracted is very difficult to achieve. This is due to many Audiophiles purchasing 1 component at a time and not having a complete system theory in mind. This is where the dealer could be 100% honest in guiding the potential buyer but honesty will cost him a quick profit and might keep the buyer off the equipment merry go round for a prolonged time. In defense of the dealer there not your protective mother/spouse you need to get out there and evaluate the gear yourself and form your own opinion. Many also need to stop making excuses about dealers not being conveniently located. If one can afford a HEA component taking a day or weekend to travel should be financially irrelevant.

Tube amps and Solid State amps definitely have a different sound.  Class A, class AB, class D amps can all sound different. I think more "dynamic range", can also change the sound of an amp which sometimes correlates to more watts.   I also believe when using components, matching the preamp to the amps (monoblocks or stereo) by using the same manufacturer "could" provide more optimal sound.  Personally, I believe I hear amp sound differences mostly at medium to loud playing levels. 

You guys think this huge disagreement in audio (in all sort of ways) is similar to the blue dress / yellow dress phenomenon a few years back? Meaning part of the population is physically unable to see the dress for it’s actual color.

I'm a firm believer in the premise that all equipment degrades the original source. I think the "snake oil" thing comes in to play when people buy into the belief that all these little tweaks and devices somehow additively get us closer to perfection.

I like to make the analogy with auto performance and fuel mileage. Those of us old enough to remember the emission and fuel shortage debacle that started in the early 1970's may remember the advertising and articles that appeared in the auto magazines of the day. All manner of add ons, tweaks and gadgets promised amazing fuel milage and performance enhancements. If one were to believe it all, you would have had to tow a tanker behind your car to collect all the excess fuel.

Our brains and hearing are complicated far beyond our comprehension. We all hear what we hear and not necessarily what others do. If money is no object, buy with the abandon of a drunken sailor and have fun, but don't tell others that their stuff is a POS. Remember that your opinion is just that and when you bad mouth other brands, as some are prone to, others might think that's their holy grail.