Do expensive cables/wires REALLY make a difference

The answer is.... Wait for it.... It depends!

It depends on the electronics and the interaction between them, such as between your speakers and amp. Some combinations can be more sensitive to differences in cables, whereas with others a change in cables will have little impact. It is a function of the physical characteristics (inductance, capacitance etc) of the cables and your system, not price. As other have said, the right cables will make a big difference. The price you pay for the right cable will only impact your wallet. This said, maybe the right cables for your system will be more expensive than another.

Figuring out what cable is right for your system is where all the fun begins.

Cwby8115, Don't forget to burn your new cables. For best results: 30min in 325deg oven. Use gloves.

The old cable shuffle.
Yes no yes no..
Well, generally the middle road would be if you can hear a difference, then i guess you would bother to buy better cables.
If you cannot hear a difference in your system, then you would not.
Simple.

For folks who are too ''whatever'' (confused, unsure, unwilling) to trust your own ears.. Then you can go either way.

My take, from my experience, is that cables of all sorts, and conditioners can make a difference.
However my personal 'theory' is that spending more than 10% of total costs on cables is a mistake. because one could BETTER spend that extra money on better equipment.
For 10% of system cost one can buy reasonable decent cables. I have absolutely no proof or reason for my 10% rule except it seems reasonable. And is what i wound up with anyway. Mostly it seems reasonable.

All sorts of folks want you to believe what they say..
All I want you to do is think for yourself.
Read all the crap being spouted.. think about it. figure it out for yourself.

Not all cables reproduce music through my speakers exactly the same. I have had some that cost more than others and the differences were slight to extreme.

After a long journey over the last 35 years I've settled on a complete system of MasterBuilt interconnects, speaker cables, and powercords. Now, anytime I replace any part of the set, even one pair of interconnects, it's easy to hear how the system is compromized. I have the Reference series and they are expensive. There's a no hassle return option. You might want to try the Standard line first and see what you think. If you try them, give them several weeks to break in.