Audio wire - why has it taken so long ?

Signal wire has improved noticeably in the past few years. But why has this taken so long ? For decades, this component category went nowhere. Wire should be much easier to study than an electronic chasis - with its hundreds of parts and power supply issues (and for digital, algorithmic calculations that it has to make).
 
Cable designers are (finally) getting somewhere - at real-world prices. Whether it's Cardas (Clear), Siltech (Anniversary), MIT (Oracle MA), we have an area of audio that is no longer the butt of jokes.
 
If there are very-different ways to make an audio cable (MIT vs Cardas), why are they *all* getting better ?