Thanks for the replies guys...This is great stuff. Again, I don't want to offend anyone here that believes the botique fancy wires are better then good quality made generics but I have done a lot of research. Part of the reason for my research is that I am a big time audiophile and I'll drive a beater car and live poor but my home video system will be on the higher end (see below). Naturally, after having spent my life savings for a good home audio/video system (this is by no means anything spectacular, most serious people have $15 to $25 systems) I wanted to make the right choice for wiring. I spent the last 3 or 4 months reading article after article. The results are clear, in every single blind test owners of systems from 10K to 150K, store owners of shops specializing in the sales of botique interconnects and speaker wire, editors of audiophile magazines, etc could not tell the difference from a $16 cable and a $2000 cabel.....
To quote a senior member of AVS forum and owner of a $25K system:
"I was a believer in cable differences for many, many years. Then after reading the results of some of the double blind comparisons of cables - such as those conducted by John Dunlavy wherein multiple audiophile magazine reviewers could not tell the difference between $1000+ speaker cables and #12 wire when connected to speakers that won the Stereophile Speaker of the Year award (identities of the participants were kept confidential by Dunlavy) - I decided to conduct my own comparisons.
To keep a long story short, after numerous comparisons with speakers ranging from $900/pr to over $10,000/pr, with wires ranging from #12 to $2700/pr, with listeners ranging from casual & spouses to 30-year audiophiles and high-end audio shop owners, my results mirrored those of Dunlavy. In properly conducted double blind comparisons, wherein the listeners were reduced to only using their ears (and not their eyes) to tell speaker cables apart, not a single person could do it.
Nearly every participant was a believer in cable differences and quite adamant about it. Nearly every one perceived differences both before and after the double blind comparisons - and this includes me. However not a single person could "prove it." I was absolutely convinced I was going to pass, before one particular comparison I thought the differences were vast. But as soon as I didn't know which cable was which, I could no longer perceive any difference at all. It was a fascinating & educational experience.
The same results happened in the interconnect comparisons between Radio Shack Gold and a host of expensive interconnects. Much to the chagrin of the participants.
My advice to anyone who might ever participate in a well-designed test: Don't bet on your ability to pass!!!"
With that said there are many good ideas. I would make my own cables but I just have the time to do it right now, though that is a great idea for peeps that do. The Accoustic Research sounds great. I might cosider the Monster and Audioquest if I can get a killer price though I'd only buy their standard model and like I said it has to be killer price. I do like the looks of the Monster and Audioquest. I'll try Ebay no matter what I decide on, I didn't realize this but you guys are right...ton of cables on Ebay and maybe I can save some $......Thanks....Chris
All components are Sony:
VCR: SLV-M91HF
400 CD Changer: CDP-CX450
300 CD Changer: CDP-CX300
200 DVD Changer: DVP-CX850D
Tuner: ST-SA50ES
Pre-Amp: TA-E9000ES
Power-Amp: TA-N9000ES
HDTV (Ready): XBR700
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