This does not mean I think buying a £200 per metre oxygen free copper speaker cable wrapped in merino wool and blessed by Buddha will automatically make your hifi sound better. But replacing crappy wires or cables that came with your audio gear with some reasonably decent cables and good connectors can indeed make a noticeable difference.
The
only difference that matters anyway is the satisfaction of the buyer.
The potential problem is that the satisfaction of the buyer of high end audio equipment is often tightly correlated with a boost of ego resulting from the purchase of new equipment. The satisfaction requires the admiration from peers and the confirmation by them that it does sound better [than the equipment it replaces].
I have the solution though.
My recommendation is simply to
always support claims made by audio equipment owner that their gear sounds better now than it did before. It is key because it will make them provide similar compliments for your own gear further down the road which will make you happier and more productive (copyright Radiohead). This is the royal way to the consumeristic nirvana we are all trying to reach.
The final piece is to start believing in the following statement "we all have different taste and there is therefore no value in comparing the absolute value of 2 different equipment".
We need to be commited to this thing my friends, the future of high end audio relies on our ability to behave well as consumers!

Cheers,
Bernard
p.s.: by the way, I own what I think is some of the best stuff available at any price point (although it is much cheaper than most)... and I am very happy about it, including my cables!