Do you really need ultra expensive cables?

The Valhalla as being the "reference standard" is fading, IMO. Many lower cost brands are besting it. Even Nordost is realizing this, see Nordost News:

"Nordost is pleased to announce the release of the newest member to the micro mono-filament cable family! The Valkyrja has a lavender mono-filament wrapped around each individual conductor yielding the nearly the same performance as its predecessor, the Valhalla at a fraction of the cost. Through extensive redesigning techniques, Nordost has been able at long last to create a series of cables quite comparable to the Valhalla, while keeping the costs at a minimum."

I feel sorry for anyone whose cost of cables is 30% to 40% of their total system. They could have had so much more music for their money had they spent it more wisely.

No. None of us really NEED any of this stuff. It's a hobby and it's supposed to be fun. If spending the big bucks on cables makes you freak, then don't so it. If you think that's where the payoff is, then why not? Opinions differ as do the ears that hold them.

It's pretty clear that most of you (including myself) believe that cables do not improve sounds. But why there are so many people still paying big bucks for them. I just don't get it :(

For those of you who are courious, Mcintosh's set up was all Tributaries Cables. It was a brand that I never pay attention before. Is it a cable company that is recommended by Mcintosh? Obviously, there is no Yes/No anwser from them. Have you guys heard or audition these cables? I believe Mcintosh just don't easily pick-up any cable company to demo their products.

Rodney,

Look Rodney, there is a difference between saying that cables don't improve the sound, and that cables don't make the system sound better. They can make the system sound better. The cables that corrupt the signal the least, and mate the best with the components that are being connected by the cables, will make the system sound better. Technically, the cable cannot improve the signal, but it can degrade it less than another cable might, and therefore the overall performance of the system can be improved.

The amount that anyone wants to pay for a set of cables is a personal choice, but I can tell you, and others will tell you that if you audition a cable that sounds significantly better in your system than what you already have, you WILL want that cable. Even if it costs alot of money. This is the reason why people pay alot for a cable. Once they hear what it does, they want it, whether it is expensive or not. My advise is, if you don't want to spend alot for cables, then don't audition the expensive ones, because you just might find that you don't want to live without it, after you hear it.