do quality cables make a differance ?

hi
i have got our system up & running ( yamaha av57 ) using the speaker cable that came with it & a cheap optical toslink + standard ariel lead to the dvd.
what i would like an opinion on, do good quality cables ( say £25 for a optical lead ) really make a differance as they say in hifi mags ?

[pdbmjb]

In most cases I have found an improvement when using better quality cables like speaker cables, stereo interconnects,digital coax,subwoofer cable.But recently I moved a piece of equipment and my 30 pound 1m Ixos optical cable was not long enough,so I replaced it with a cheap 2m optical cable bought on Ebay for a fiver with the intention of upgrading at a later date .TBH I could not tell the difference between the Ixos and the budget cable so will be sticking with the cheapo.

[Nick_UK]

Optical cables carry digital signals - they either work or they don't. You won't see any improvement with more expensive cables. Spend your money where you will hear a difference - in the hardware.

[Smiffy 2]

Originally Posted by Nick_UK

Optical cables carry digital signals - they either work or they don't. You won't see any improvement with more expensive cables. Spend your money where you will hear a difference - in the hardware.

I concur