Your jaw dropping cables

never had one.

My experience matches Jaybo's. Maybe it's because I upgraded very gradually over the years, but I can't say that switching cables has made the type of difference you're describing. Now if I had upgraded directly from a generic patch cord to my current Kubala Sosna or similar quality cables, I might have had the kind of reaction you're asking about.

Some three decades ago perhaps, swapping my common for the day speaker cable for Monster Cable 12gauge. Even my sister Renee noticed the difference. So I knew it wasn't simply the I just brought it so it must be better syndrome. It made me a believer to this day in larger gauge speaker cable.

I was most impressed with the Kubala Sonsa Emotions. But the speaker cables don't remind me of garden hoses but more like a fire hose. I'd be afraid they would pull my monitors down LOL!! Anyhow I own Nordost Frey's (they won't pull down any speaker).

Like others have said if you had some basic cables and demoed some high end cables you would eventually find a great jaw dropping cable. I'll add as your components get better the cables will reveal more. So what I found great cables on mid-fi will bring out the flaws where with Higher-fi it will bring out more of the good.

My two "holy crap" wire moments came (1) from moving from generic lamp cord (or equivalent) to Kimber Monocle XLs for speaker cable and (2) replacing the stock wires on a pair of Sennheiser HD600s with Cardas wire. (Not that either is an "ultimate" in and of itself.) Everything since then has involved trade offs and increments, but those two were definite night and day moments.