Matthew, I'm not a cable naysayer - you can't argue with the simple truth that without 'em, separates aren't happening all that much. What I rail against to some extent are the claims that go in tandem with them from some manufacturers and magazines. My head was turned by a set of van den hul The Name interconnects. The review said one thing, the truth for me turned out to be less of the experience I'd expected.
I moved on since that day. Tried different copper wires, tried Nordost Blue Heavens which are silver based and the only ones I tried which were different, because, I think, of the silver content. Too bright, never again.
Since then, I went round the houses as you've probably gathered. For you, you make a choice based on the information you have to hand. I went with the likes of Roger Russel's site because it just told me what a cable does, or what it can do. Hence why, when I discovered the Digitalis Direct site I bought the 14AWG / 322 strand speaker cable I use just now. It replaced the Audioquest Type IV, not because it was massively better, if truth be told, it was because it cost me a fiver, sounded about the same and was easier to place at home.
Interconnects are the same. I tried out, on a whim, some RCA phono cables from a computer shop in Edinburgh a couple of years ago. They were £8. The music sounded the same using them as it did with whatever the heck I used at the time. Since then, I've had Monster Interlink's, Audioquest Copperhead's, DNM Reson Bullets and currently, Atlas Navigator. And the rest...!
We make our choices as consumers and dependant on what we need at any given time, are swayed by a variety of sales techniques. That goes across the board not just for cables obviously enough.
Reading your post, I suppose the question that sprang up in my mind was what is it you expect? It's percentages for me - what makes the biggest difference? Components or shifting your speakers around. By far and away the biggest differences are there. But cables? Where? Get someone to point out precisely where in the music the differences are heard, and if they can't do that, what is it about the piece they're playing you is different because of X cable from Y cable. And how do they describe that difference and where does it come in the music, or is it about the "air"...whatever. I gave up with it all. It's a good idea to bone up a little on the speaker cable properties though, but I just went with Russell's suggestions in the end. They work well and are inexpensive.
Don't get too hung up on it all. It's a hobby, but just pick and choose the bits of ti that work for you - there's no right or wrong in this when you're handing your money over, excepting that if you like what you hear, that's good enough. In time you might want to make a change, otherwise, just enjoy the music. If ever a hobby got so hung up on itself though, this one's it.