I own "high-end cables" (not sure if the contacts are gold) and my low-end-of-high-end HiFi might sound just as good with cheaper cables but I don't know, havin

I own "high-end cables" (not sure if the contacts are gold) and my low-end-of-high-end HiFi might sound just as good with cheaper cables but I don't know, having never (yet) tried it that way. It's very likely that all that super great sound is just the high quality amp and speakers. The same thing could be happening with lossless. If you are going to the trouble of encoding and storing a lossless digital music collection, I think chances are good you're listening on very good equipment. And you might scoff at the idea of trying out high-bitrate MP3 on it, because the MP3s you have from your Napster days really do sound terrible through your tube amp. OTOH I wouldn't go too far down the "can't hear it anyway" road. I'm in my 40's and there's plenty I can't hear, but I assume not everything in my collection will be on YouFacePotify for my grandkids to listen to while their ears still work.