Do I need an expensive digital cable?

@audio-b-dog 

There is no such thing as mid- or high-tier audiophiles, just some people who love (need) to look down their noses at others.

The impact on sound quality of speaker cables and analog interconnects is governed by science.

The impact of power cords, Ethernet cables, etc. is still governed by science, but the discipline involved is preponderantly behavioral psychology.

@lanx0003 @devinplombier 

I do have a second system in my bedroom. It's an old Tivoli radio with extra speaker, sub woofer, and cd player. I don't mind listening to it at all when I'm napping . I think all the pieces cost less than $1K.

Everything comes down to time and money. My friends think I'm crazy for the amount of time I've spent on my stereo. I can see where an engineer might enjoy playing around with a system more than the rest of us. Although, I've hit the age where I can no longer crouch in the 20" space behind the stereo. I went from tubes to solid state because tubes require a lot of crouching. I call a friend who knows nothing about stereos, but who has a steady hand, to help me install a new cartridge. I'm still a good diagnostician, though.

So, back to time and money. If I had the money for high-end cables, I'd probably spend it on something else. An expensive streamer. Or one of those cartridges that cost much more than $2K. I have a feeling I might have hit the level of diminishing returns on cables. Although I did recently purchase the Nordost/VPI tonearm cables that go to the phono stage. Everybody said that cable really matters. 

I also think that new interconnects and speaker cables are beyond my physical abilities. I've compared cables before and it's a lot of work. And by the time you get the new speaker cables hooked up (with a lot of crouching) you've forgotten what the old ones sounded like. A/B ing streamers is a lot easier. 

So, I'll add age to my list of what matters. Time, money, and age, with a subset of crouchability. And wives, of course. They're at the top of the list.

you can  waste money buying expensive cables and waste time reading about cables. Luckily I can only afford the second one...

The impact on sound quality of speaker cables and analog interconnects is governed by science
 

digital too. It’s all ones and zeros. There’s no difference between transports. No difference between streamers. It’s governed by science. 
CDs sound identical to streaming. Don’t waste your money on transports and streamers. The output voltage when measured on dac output will be identical no matter the transport. Just watch Audio Science Review. That’s the science that governs the difference between cables, dacs, transports, etc 

All this cables changing how your system sounds is pure lunacy. 

"I audition each cable” LOL

I am wishing good luck to identify SQ most impact variables!