Like gold jewelry, Not all are the same, some are more pure than others and this is the same for cables.
This is one of the best statements I have read in this thread, and likely was unintended to make this point:
A solid gold wrist watch does not keep time better than one made of stainless steel. However, a gold watch does cost significantly more, so why would any person buy a gold watch when they could get just as accurate a timepiece made of stainless steel for far less? Or more importantly, would anyone buy a gold watch if watches were worn on a part of the body that was not in plain view?
I will leave you guys with a neat story that I feel could help to explain some of the $$$$ cable skeptics' feelings.
A buddy of mine works for a company that makes gear for the cable television industry. Not the stuff in your house, but in the racks at the cable company, and the field testing equipment used by technicians. Back in the '90s, they introduced a new signal leak "sniffer" device, a shoulder carried unit used by technicians to detect signal loss up on the lines on the poles out on the street. They used some completely new materials and construction techniques and it was more accurate and sensitive than the old unit and they initially offered the devices for something like $1200 each, to replace their old standard unit that sold for $5000.
Despite it's superior performance, lighter weight, and lower price, they could not sell them. My buddy told me that one of the sales guys heard from several wholesalers that said that cable companies were suspicious and believed that no device at that price point could be as good. So guess how they solved this problem? They redesigned the cabinet, switched from a vinyl case to a leather one like the old unit had, and reissued basically the same unit with a different model number, and bumped the price to $3500. They sold like wildfire after this. This story suggests that there is an assumption of price=performance level that is often assumed and not necessarily true.
Just something to think about............