Sir Quack, I must disagree. I have done that test and can tell you the difference b/w lamp cord and Transparent wire and Monster Z Series, etc., is real, but small. (Bare wire is a different issue - after spending much hard earned $, I fear the weak link of corrosion in the humidity drenched south. Heck, even peoploe corrode down here!)
But I spent a lot of time comparing wires and audible differences are there, even on my lower end system. Transparent was best for my price range, the Monster Z had great bass but had less clarity on the highs, lamp cord was weaker on both. I have also listed on a $100K+ setup, and found some of the cheaper (very relative term!) wire was better (to me) than some of the more expensive stuff. This is a case of severe diminishing marginal returns - the next $100 brings far fewer changes than the first $100. It could be all smoke and mirrors, but I believe the efforts made (in the little black boxes added to high end wire) to control known anomalies in analog signals when transmitted over copper over a set distance have an impact. There is no dispute the signal changes, look at any signal chart on the many studies of the issue. The question is does that change matter to you and is the impact good or not. That is up to the listener. Most studios seem to prefer special wire. If you don't notice a difference in your room, congrats. For me, it was worth the insane, but possible, price of admission to get some tech voodoo rubbed on my wire. (That sounds odd... :o)
