Some audiophile claims aren’t BS at all; the quality difference between stereo equipment can be immense. But I agree with Randi on this — $7000 cables? Lunacy.
Of course devices sound different...I can readily tell the difference between various sound cards, set up as identically as possibly, on the same speakers or headphones, or the same music played on my iPod Shuffle or from the original cds on a portable player. You learn the characteristics of a device over time and get used to it and can easily identify the familiar quirks it has, the same as you can identify the sound of your own car’s engine.
I’m pretty skeptical about cables making any real difference, though, figuring all cables being compared are of a reasonable minimal quality and undamaged.
The difference between a $200 rig and a $2000 rig? Absolutely!
Between $2000 and $10000? Probably.
Between $10000 and infinity? I doubt it very much. The law of diminishing returns starts to kick in big time when you reach the high four figures.