I still stand by my diminishing returns statement. It's a well known fact. As far as cabling - I noticed a difference, though subtle, when I switched rather basic wires with Nordost Blue Heavens (in retrospect - probably not a good match for my Jm Lab as they are both "zippy" and bright sounding. Cables do make a difference though.
Yes - good systems make a huge difference in the sound - Everytime I go to my bud's house a put on stuff - I hear sounds I never heard before on recordings.
I think with all the millions and millions of people having their music now at their fingertips(thanks Steve) there's a large untapped potential for high end audio (at least from the digital front) and you are starting to see it with companies like Olive ----
http://www.olive.us/home.html?PHPSES...b9b8e14a6be712