I have tested many HDMI cables from poundland to monster costing everything from £1 to over £100 and i found next to no difference in PQ from one cable to the next, that's not to say you can't get duff cables you can and build quality can play a little part of course you dont want it falling apart as soon as you contect it up to your equipment, but for a magazine to say PQ will be improved by getting a £60 cable is just wrong.
Don't forget, we're talking differences in audio as well as picture quality - for me this is one area where HDMI cables can more easily be differentiated. Picture Quality varies (in my experience), but in itself, I don't think the difference would be worth the amount my Chord Active cable cost for instance. However, when it comes to sound, it really does make quite a noticeable improvement over the freebie cable I was using before. Big enough at any rate that I can justify the cost of the cable.
Don't think i'm saying your wrong either prof things can look different from one person to the next, if you can see a difference then that's fine as you have tested them yourself and found what was right for you. I just think mags shouldn't state things as if it were a general fact when it's not.
Indeed, I'm a big believer of "try before you buy" and wouldn't have bought the more expensive cable if I hadn't the option of returning it if I could see no difference. From What Hi-Fi's perspective on reporting this though, if they're also seeing / hearing a difference like I am, isn't it their job to report it? I know What Hi-Fi do state quite clearly that people should always audition equipment before buying and not just follow their recommendations blindly. Do people listen? Probably not in quite a few cases, but the magazine can't really be held responsible for those people's laziness.
Probably just psychological - it's like if you tell someone they are drinking an expensive wine they're likely to think it's better than they would if drinking the exact same wine at a lower price.
I believe it's about actively looking for the improvement and convincing yourself it exists, either to justify the extra expense or just because you believe it should be there. Human testimony is a notoriously subjective and unreliable thing, which is why the best AV tests, typically measuring very slight differences in ostensibly similar products (e.g. HD screens), rely on scientific/mechanical rather than human measurement.
As I say earlier, I'm very much a "try before you buy" person, I'd always have an option to demo something before committing to the purchase. At one time I have also tried several different mains cables on my AV receiver to judge performance, one being at the higher end (£130), one in the budget range (£30) and the one that came with the amp. I couldn't detect any difference between the high end and the budget cable, so sent the high end cable back for a refund. So I'd like to think I'm immune to the psychology you mention above as I'd be more than happy to have my £130 back to spend on Blu-Rays, unless of course I notice a difference in performance. I've spent tens of thousands of pounds on my home cinema kit - it's my main hobby and I want to ensure I get the best investment out of it, hence why I try these things.
When I go to buy a TV, I go and look with my eyes and choose the one I think has the best picture. When I go to buy a stereo, I go and listen with my ears and choose the one I think sounds best. I don't look at graphs and decide from this information which one I think theoretically is going to sound better. I follow the same practice when auditioning cables.
Can I prove anything on HDMI cables? Nope, and nor am I remotely interested in doing so. This is my opinion and I made the choice on my own for my own personal benefit, no one else's. Maybe it all is in my head, I can't possibly prove it isn't. But at the same time, neither can anyone else prove it is. As long as I can see and hear the difference, that's all the evidence I need. I know others work differently, and that of course is their prerogative.