Just as a tip, unless there's an HDCP requirement in play, don't automatically rule out component connections without trying them first. HDMI was not invented to provide better picture quality. It was invented to allow for copy-protected interlinks between devices. That expensive HDMI cable benefits the MPAA, not you, and believe it or not depending on the devices involved you can in some cases get a more satisfactory result using component cables.
That said, everybody who has told you that high-priced cables are BS is spot on. Audiophiles are notoriously superstitious, every bit as bad as crystal-wavers and homeopathic medicine believers. Overpriced cables are just the beginning of the hocus-pocus sold to the naive, the most seemingly plausible initial step into a world full of placebos and "emperor's new clothes" effects that cannot withstand even the most basic rigorous examination.
