Marantz, Dynaco and MacIntosh have reissued some of their classic designs. Some people claim that some loudspeakers, such as Quad ESL, the original AR3s and some of the classic Allison models are equal or better than anything built today. What distinguishes the products built years ago from what is available today is that most of the earlier equipment was far more affordable than much of the modern audio equipment. Once high-end cables were introduced, the market expanded and the prices continued to search new highs. The answer is yes.
Different cables do sound different.
The problem is trying to determine which cables sound better. While copper is a better conductor than gold, oxidized copper is a poor conductor. Silver is still a very good conductor even when oxidized. For this reason, connectors are often made from materials that are poorer conductors than copper. Often gold plating is used because gold plating does not oxidize.