The point remains; the doors are still open and the lights are still on for companies selling cables and high end audio gear so there is a business for it.
If you think it's not worth pursuing that's totally your call, but there is a fair list of companies that think it is. In my opinion/speculation, with some cables especially, it's not necessarily huge volume, it's big, really big, margin.
Mentioning Monster earlier was helpful to my example. Many people despise them because of their business practice. Whether the cables are good or bad or indifferent, is immaterial to this point. They made an assload of money selling cables.
About Pass on DIY forum, I'm not sure of your point. Are you suggesting he's there helping people for free because he doesn't make enough money in his business?
BTW, I have a patent too...well, my employer I suppose actually has the patent/IP, but as an inventor thereof. The company has never built the device. Don't know if we ever will. So, in this regard I know what you mean just because you can, you don't necessarily "do" for any number of reasons.
To be able to succeed, you have to be an idealist, you have to have the passion and tenacity....Which......I don't have at this point. Far as the cable, it's not even about whether it's worthy for me to pursue, I think it's been discovered as you see there are quite a few similar ideas. I am 64, I had my career and I paid my dues. I am still doing contract on and off when the company needs me.
As for pursuing my patent, it is a good valid patent, not just playing with words. There are only 3 patent like this till 2014, one from Fender in the early 80s by Neo Fender, the second is by Dudley Gimpel of Musicman in 1995, the third one is mine. If you are interested, this is the patent:
https://www.google.com/patents/US8704074
I just calculated, even if I can sell each for say $80 to $100, I sell say 100 a month. That is $10,000 a month. The cost is say $15 each, then you have to add labor. The most expensive is marketing. I was talking to a pickup maker called D Allen of D Allen pickup a little, he has to go to NAM, pay a lot of money to join the show. He has to travel around talking to musician to try to get endorsements.............. If you check on D Allen pickups, he has a pretty good name and I know as a guitarist that his pickups are very good, the whole line of pickups that sound very different and unique and have the character. He is already quite well known. But guess what, he is still winding his own pickup, I don't think he is making a living with that. He is quite well to do not from the pickup business, this is his hobby...................If you calculate the realistic cost, you are working less than minimum wages and is slave labor. At this point, I am not that eager in my contracting work that they let me work at home so I can work at any odd hours like 3am in the morning!!! They pay me very good money and I don't have to worry about anything. They are pursuing a patent on their instrument with my name in part of the design. I am happy camper.The 3 years dues on my patent is up, I am not even sure I want to pay for it. I got my fun, I wrote and published my patent, it's time to move on.
Problem is only the big established company make a boat load of money, companies like Monster Cable, Pioneer, Onkyo, Adcom etc. that established their name, people just keep buying them regardless. Making the name is the single most important thing, and it is very hard to make a name. Fender make lousy pickups, but they sell a boatload of them because it's Fender!!!
A lot of people got their patent from working for companies, you are the inventor, the company is the assignee. You don't get to keep any money from the patent. They always have a claus in your contract that any invention of yours relate to the job belongs to the employer. I have another patent like yours also.You got the fame, they got the money!!!
I talked about Nelson Pass on the forum. You see Bill Gates on any forum? The ones that making big money are too busy in their business to even think about talking on the forum. You have to make an appointment to even talk to them. The fact that Pass talking on the forum implies he is not making a boat load of money!!!