I use inexpensive, but well-made cables. My studio is mostly Conquest Audio cables that i’ve had for years. I’m using Live Wires guitar cables live - they are a “lifetime guarantee” cable. They’ve been lasting for 100 or so shows, and then I got free replacement cables. And, then, I did it again 
Depends on how durable you want your cable to be. I dont give a damn about low oxigen copper and other hifi grade stuff, but i do care about rolling and unrolling your cable nicely, not having to deal with broken connectors during setup and finding the right cable in no time.
I use tasker cable (meterware), with a neutrik connector, a shrinksleeve with my name and the colorcoded length, and a velcro strap 
It's just 1's and 0's for digital so it doesn't much matter AFAIK. I passed on top quality coax cables, waste of money IMHO.
There are two reasons to buy higher quality cables
- Better shielding
- longevity
The first only applies if you are in an area with a lot of RF interference.
The second only applies if you’re on the road or abusing your cables a lot, even then higher quality cables only last at most twice as long as a cheap cable so they’d better not be more than 2x as expensive!
The wider the diameter the less drop-off of voltage you’ll experience over a longer cable which can result in more noise but only if you have a really long cable.
At the end of the day it’s just electricity, which isn’t all that picky. Just don’t get those coiled cables, they just suck.
I always get decent quality cables (Sommer cables or Cordial), but not the voodoo stuff.
Works.
If you’re talking a digital interconnect then there’s no difference providing it’s good enough to work.
With guitar cables, the differences are robustness, shielding and capacitance.
The capacitance can affect your tone; if you look at cables, they will be rated by how much capacitance there is in a meter. Generally speaking, more expensive cables have lower capacitance.
If you have a long enough and cheap enough cable then the capacitance could have an effect on your tone akin to turning the tone control down a bit. Of course, if you like that tone and the cables are giving you no problems with robustness or shielding then no worries. But compared with such a cable a high quality short one will have more top end which you may prefer. Or not :). Like pickups, the difference between good or bad is more about personal taste than anything!
I’m pretty fond of Klotz. Always works for me. The La Grange cable was the first «high end» cable I bought, and I still have it 10 years later. Longevity for the win!
Cordial works too, but I have only TRS cables from them.
Makes a difference to me.
I use Evidence Audio cables.
For any long runs from passive guitar pickups the difference in cables can be really noticeable. Cheap ones knock a lot of high end off. Swapping to a quality one is like taking a blanket off your speakers.
I thought you were talking only about coax? If you're talking guitar/xlr etc... then yeah, go quality man.
My boards, guitars, bass, and drums are all Evidence Audio/Studio One gold plated cables. Those Fender cables are crap, I had a few years ago and they didn't last at all. Super f'in annoying when you have to start tracing your rigs for one bad connector.
I'll second that Fender cables are crap. At least the ones I've tried.
I did a test several years ago with a Fender, 2 cheapo ones, and a top of the line Planet Waves. The Planet Waves sounded so much better I decided to do a rough test. I asked my wife to try to guess which cable was the "good" one from the other room and I swapped back and forth between all of them. She picked the Planet Waves every time, saying it was more clear and bright. She's not a musician.
For any long runs from passive guitar pickups the difference in cables can be really noticeable. Cheap ones knock a lot of high end off. Swapping to a quality one is like taking a blanket off your speakers.
The difference you heard is capacitance. High capacitance will knock off high end and move the resonant peak to a lower frequency. It's not a matter of quality or not. Both expensive and cheap cables can have high capacity, or not. For short runs I'd often prefer a cable with higher capacitance.
Im Using some "regular 1/4" hi Z guitar cables I bought from "Billy's Band Aid" back in the late 70's. I never left them outside, always rolled um up and stored them dry in a case/bag properly, kept the connections clean and they work like new today. Thats not to suggest that cables made today might last that long, but who knows...
Similar to you, Spikey:
Using custom unbalanced (I didn't even know about "balanced" else I'd have had 'em made in that flavour instead) studio cables I had made in 1988. Neutrik connectors and super-flexible cable (never knew what brand, but I trusted the guy). Spent a grand 'cause I had a bunch of synths with multiple outputs. I still use the leads today, and not a single one has failed in any way.
I sometimes wonder if they're ideally-suited to guitar and bass 'cause they weren't made with these purposes in mind, but until I hear something in the sound that screams, "I'm not made for the job, yer nanger!", I'll stick with them.
Could be, AJ.
IIRC, I've actually said to you a couple o' times that I thought your guitar recordings and Profiles were dark-sounding.
I always get decent quality cables (Sommer cables or Cordial), but not the voodoo stuff.
Works.
Same here. But want to add, that I really care for flexibility of the material in home(-studio) use.
The cables have to be easy to handle (unroll, roll up), not twisting, be flexible! The music has to be rebellious, not the cables
Since I am both an electronic engineer and a high end nerd - I use the best cables I can get - makes a HUGE difference for me.
(I am not talking about cables for digital signals).
