Well, this thread certainly followed its predictable course!
I had an interesting experience with a silver headphone cable a few years ago.
*This is a long write-up - skip to the end if you don't want read it* Now, I am not a cable "believer" by any means and find my money can be better spent on other things like, well, music, since that is why I am in this reproduction game to begin with. Anyway, I had purchased a pair of Philips Fidelio X1 headphones, which I loved (and still do). It was reported on Innerfidelity.com that the supplied cable of these certain headphones had a high-ish resistance of 1.8 Ohms (the reviewer stated that most cables have a resistance of 0.5-0.8 Ohms) and this may affect the sound. Hmm, I rather liked the nice cable that came with. I swapped cables with my own V-Moda brand cable (measured by the reviewer at 0.5 Ohms) and could not tell a difference. Sweet. Meanwhile, over on head-fi.org, I joined the X1 owner's group and the OEM cable was subject of quite a bit of discussion. One of the posters volunteered to whip up some cables in three flavors: run of the mill copper strand, OFC copper and silver plated copper, all the same gauge and construction (termination, solder, paracord and heat shrink) to see if anyone could hear a difference. He then sent them on a road trip to whomever wanted to participate with the stipulation that they write up their findings. When it came to be my turn, I dutifully listened to all of the cords, including my two, several times over several days. Of the five cords, I could not tell the difference with four of them, which was a relief, because if my Philips cord did indeed have a high impedance, it did not affect the sound in my setup. The fifth cord - the silver plated one - sounded different from the others, with just the slightest bit of shimmer and lightness in the high frequencies that the others did not have. The best adjective may be a wee bit of "sparkle" - I don't know. I tested it (no, not blind ABX-LGBTQRSTUV-MSLSD - sorry) against every cable in a 1-2, 2-1, 1-2-1, 2-1-2, blahblahblah and heard it consistently on a few - not all - of my test tracks. This was not something that I could hear if I just slapped my headphones on one day with one cable and another the next. There was no "OMG" moment when the seas parted and Jovian ring system was suddenly visible. It was extremely subtle and only audible with a side-by-side, quick-change comparison. I then wrote up my findings, promptly packed up the cables and sent them off to the next participant. Did I run out and buy some megabling solid unobtanium cable as a result of my findings? Nope, because listening - to me, at least - is about enjoyment and that was work. If I have to work at listening, then it is not fun. I am in this to assemble a group of components that bring me the most pleasure, not reveal the last scintilla of detail, perceived or not. I've got other things to worry about...
TL/DR: Heard a difference between some cables. Don't care.
