Definitely, yes.. particularly with HDMI cables and similarly complicated tech. But the problem is then that they basically don't work properly. The problem with audiophiles is that they think that these kinds of digital problems are like analog problems and will first affect details in the music.. like e.g. a low-pass filter would. Making the bass sound less crisp, or the violin muddy. While in reality, if you were connected directly to a partially working digital transmission system with no error correction or buffering, you would instead experience the equivalent of yanking out the cable of an electric guitar without first muting the amp input. Or the sound of throwing your hifi amp through the nearest glass door. Or at least horrible squeaks. Not a subtle degradation of sound quality for sure.