There's good arguments for making sure analogue audio cables are made from oxygen-free copper (OFC), and are well shielded with jackets physically tough enough to withstand likely use.
There are good arguments for using OFC cable as above but also with low internal capacitance as guitar/bass leads (until the signal hits the first transistor buffer or valve anyway).
Gold (or tribor) plated connectors are useful as they resist corrosion very well.
Speaker leads heavy enough to carry the current involved are an obviously good idea.
And that's it.
As for digital cables, I use decent quality (Belkin) 4.8 metre cables to connect a UA-101 and MIDI interfaces without the slightest problem. No ferrites involved. In fact, the only USB cables I have with ferrites are the cheap stringy ones supplied with e.g. disc drives.
As for "audiophiles"...., don't get me started. Let's just say some have far more money than sense and are remarkably obsessive and remarkably gullible. A fact parts of the hi-fi industry noticed a long time ago.