I have talked to a couple of folks that were around when he started this thing, and it is supposedly not on the up and up. People have either won it or challenged it and been dismissed. Publicity stunt, so I am told.
It is simple science that every cable has different electrical characteristics. Thus the sound can change from cable set x to cable set y. Capacitance, resistance, inductance, frequency carrying ability (skin effect) vary. Take a single set of cables. Add a capacitor or maybe an inductor. This will change the final sound (by interacting with the crossover).
This is not magic, just simple electronics.
Picking each component of a high end system is largely a balance of the characteristics that suit the individual tastes of the listener(s).
Some folks take it a bit farther than we can resolve (or believe) but this happens with all hobbies. People freak out over super high end all sorts of shit that the rest of us just shake our heads at.
