Using Roon for parametric EQ and/or room equalization is much more efficient than finding the right combination of cables.
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I think this is why lots of audiophiles rail against blind A/B/X testing. Theyāre convinced that these phenomena exist, but thereās a tiny shred of nagging doubt that they might just be wrong and they wonāt subject themselves to finding out the truth.
Those are for different things. Yes you will most likely get more change in sound using the room EQ. You can use a better designed cable AND use room EQ. Or you can treat a room which doesnāt impose change to the track.
Ok. Iāll bite: How do we know what better designed is?
Maybe we should start by admitting that a recording is nothing holy. Itās a million technical compromises and personal taste added by the recording and mixing engineers.
So why not treat (DSP) the sound efficiently? Cannot do any more harm.
Well therein lies the challenge. I canāt really answer this except to say get information about the cable you use from the manufacturer, if they donāt provide it donāt fall for their marketing. Make manufacturers back up their claims with data. If a cable passes this test, then test it for yourself if you have an interest to ensure it does what you expect it to do in your system. If it doesnāt, donāt use it.
When choosing a network cable for instance, the best thing would to be use a cable, which is well built and within spec of what the manufacturer says you should be using with their product (like a network streamer). Example: Donāt use a shielded cat8 cable made out of unobtanium if the manufacturer recommends an unshielded cat 6 and expect to have better performance. Maybe you will, maybe you wonāt. If your pockets are deep enough it doesnāt matter. When you do buy the unshielded cat 6 make sure you are actually buying something that meets the cat 6 specs. If the cables are well within your budget get a few properly specād cables of different āflavorsā and see if there is a difference to you that you enjoy. Only part of this hobby is a hard science you know. The rest is listening preference. Of course, my listening preference is always the correct one 
Going back to my original point. Cables do make a difference. Network cables make a difference, switches make a difference. It is not black and white. Iāve noticed big differences with different configurations and it has been a bit eye opening and unfortunate. I wish they didnāt make a difference in my system but they have for me.
Back to the question:
I wish this were easy to answer. I donāt know how to tell except to buy what I think is supposed to be good based on what others who have used a lot of equipment say is good and try it for myself. I listen to people who donāt necessarily take money from companies and try to deliver as unbiased of an opinion as possible.
In your opinion, this is absolutely not a statement of fact. Because factually, Ethernet cables especially, donāt. I have worked in IT for 20 years, I design networks for a living, Iāve also
Been into hifi for over 24 years. Network cables, DO NOT make a difference, it is utterly scientifically and physically impossible.
As Ricky gervais once said āyou cannot have your own factsā
Never has this been truer. Everything you stated is an opinion, not a fact.
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Did you copy and paste that argument from another thread. Iāve read this before. Agree to disagree sir.
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Again, in your opinion. You cannot under any circumstances present a ācables make a differenceā argument as fact. Donāt confuse facts with opinion. You have yours, it may, or may not be correct.
You could instead say cables āmayā make a difference or cables ācouldā make a difference. But saying they ādoā is an opinion and nothing more.
Unless you cAn show some concrete evidence to the contrary
And itās pretty easy to understand if you are willing to. Digital information travelling through a network has no shades of grey. Itās perfect or gets corrected to perfection say in case of packet losses. Plus, and this is important, there is no time component involved at least not in this purpose. The network delivers way faster than our audio devices require. The digital information that later is converted to analog audio signals is buffered ahead of time in the streamer. This means there is a world of time to deliver jitter free, re clocked data to the DAC. The digital transport has no influence on audio quality because itās not audio yet. Itās data. An even standard ethernet cable have way more capacity and quality than 10 DACs would require.
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Itās said numerous times in this thread and few others that itās not about data, buffers etc. Only way ethernet cable can do some harm in audio system is if you use shielded cable with shield connected in both ends, this way forming an electric connection between two equipment. IMO better just use unshielded cable and be done with it.
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I could understand that to some extent if thatās the rational people always used. But they donāt.
It also suggests thereās some form of connection between where the data enters your streamer / dac and where the sound is generated, and that they lack the ability to reject such noise.
No proof that any of this noise is in the slightest bit audible, if it even exists in the first place.
Easily to be busted by a TOSLINK connection. Well then of course we may find ourselves dealing with optical noise 
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Iāll put money on the fact that any Nordost, WW, AQ, Chord, etc cable, that meets spec as measured on a Fluke or Wavetek I can match with bulk cable, a multimeter, ends, and termination tools. In your very own setup. You just wonāt know which cable is which.
Iāll do you one better. The cable I make will be twice as long as your patch.
They way you measure a cable is to measure the output you would normally connect the cable too and then take the measurement again on the far end with the cable plugged in.
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This flagging by some delicate gents around really sucks. Get a grip.
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This point is great:
You can then hear difference with the cable plugged in regardless of % of buffer fill. Itās something Iāve suggested others try and replicate:
Get a 30 day Tidal trial account and playback what ever you want, wait a few seconds and plug/unplug the cable.
I use basic but well built cables. Iām sure you can make a cable that sounds nearly identical to mine. If you are giving them away Iāll take some. Thanks.
YT is full of DIY tutorials on CAT cable termination.
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Even Graeme acknowledges the possibility of ground plane problems when using shielded ethernet cable. Rational enough for you?
Exactly, toslink works great by isolating two equipment electrically. I have never been able to hear any difference between optical cables. Then again, between coaxial cables there were differences in my Naim setup back in the day when I compared them between the USB bridge and Naim DAC.
But ABX double blind testing does NOT require short samples. One can do ABX testing, where you are playing the source for weeks or months at a time if the tester wishes to do this.
EDIT: sorry I see someone already made this point.