cable upgrades , real or rip off

I'd rate the cable importance in this order.
1 - IC from source to pre
2 - IC from pre to amp
3 - Speaker cables
4 - Power Line conditioners(not cables but still relate)
5 - Power cords

The best interconnect should reside between your source and your preamp(or integrated).
And by the way, good cables make a difference once the rest of your system is good enough to show it. Otherwise with crappy components don't expect difference between cables to be big or to exist at all.

I basically agree w/ Audphile's ranking, except I think #4 should read: Dedicated circuits (if possible) and then powerline conditioners (if necessary.)

Nsgarch, that's right. Thank You.

The most important change is to rewire up to the power generating palnt with audiophile cable. What's the cost of a couple of hundred or a thousand miles of cable compared to perfect sound?

There is never going to be consensus in regard to this. Everyone is going to have different experiences. Some homes (for whatever reason) benefit from better power cords, or even powerblock, regenerators, and the like. I saw a review here of a Purist cable where the reviewer concluded that using that cable was a bigger improvement than buying a better amp for the same price.

People are not going to agree, but IN MY EXPERIENCE all better cables make a difference. It doesn't matter what the power company used to get the power to your house. I have replaced all the circuits, cables and outlets, and then the PCs, and all of it was an improvement. Next, I would like to run copper underground from the pole to my breaker box. Maybe I'll buy one of those upgraded breaker boxes for $3000 too.