I'd love to see any evidence that these very simple 'parasitic' components, present in 'trace' quantities in any cable, could have any effect on the sound whatsoever. If it's merely a case of capacitance and inductance then the effects can be simulated or measured accurately. But the capacitive and inductive differences between cables are very small. Maybe you could point to one that's ten times higher than another, but ten times very little - in the context of a real world source impedance and amp input impedance - is still very little. Is lower shunt capacitance and series inductance beneficial anyway? Some manufacturers boast of their ability to pass a RF square wave unmodified, while some boast that their 'networks' add extra capacitance and inductance to attenuate RF (though that particular manufacturer appears not to understand cable technical basics - and it was someone else in this forum who pointed that out!). Is there any evidence whatsoever that there is any other factor at play in cables? Something non-linear that happens in cheap cables, but not in the ones rolled on the thighs of virgins?
To maintain that no two components in an audio system are the same, and that any perceived difference in sound must be down to differences in 'trace parasitics' that are too small or too mysterious to be measured seems like a dead end. It's a truism: no two components are alike, but without some sort of indication as the audibility of the difference, it is simply an argument using the 'fallacy of the sliding scale'. No one can argue with it, no matter how good the evidence for 'experimenter bias', 'confirmation bias' or whatever you want to call it, and the complete absence of blind testing in virtually any audiophile's experience - it's incredibly onerous, time consuming and no one would want to do it: it's only a hobby. That's where measurements could save the day, but every audiophile knows that they don't mean anything. There's also no argument with the Emperor's New Clothes syndrome: if expensive cables exist then there must be a reason for it. It's just common sense. It is impossible that people could be persuaded to part with $10,000 for a piece of wire if it didn't do something amazing. But is it..?
The Emperor's New Clothes syndrome also comes with an unpleasant side that says that if you can't hear a difference, or are aware of your own biases, it automatically makes you less of an audiophile. Less discerning. Less refined. A philistine. A mere objectivist. There is a penalty for failing to imagine, or failing to pretend to hear, differences that don't exist.
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