Help me buy some new cables....


Okay, I am looking to buy some cables on eBay--I am hoping to take advantage of some clearance items. I use an all Magnepan HT driven by Citation 7.1 and 5.1 amps. My processor is a Lexicon MC-12 (don't know how much that matters). I am thinking of buying one set of a couple to try them out and then buy more if there is one I like, but frankly, I am not a big cable experimenter and with two newborns I just don't have the time or money to do much right now.... So any way I can cut a corner and get a good sound the happier I will be. Anyway, there are a few choices that I've got:

Straight wire Musicable II
Vampire Wire
Monster Cable of a few types (300i and 350i I think, plus a couple others)
DH Labs White Lightening
Audio quest g-snake
knuconceptz
Tributaries (their lower end cables of course)

I could also DIY some cables, but time becomes a REAl issue. Also, while I have no doubt I can make a functional cable, I've never actually made interconnects before so I am worried about the end quality even if I found the time to do it.

I'm also open to suggestions. As you might guess, I am not looking to spend very much here. My budget basically maxes out at $50 per pair. I'm considering doing one very nice pair for the front speakers and perhaps center channel and lower end cables for the surrounds.

Thanks for any advice!
Aaron
aewhistory
Either crutchfield or vanns has Monster m650i and m850i on sale right now. Great all around cables. I'm using as Pre amp to amp runs deeper bass than Audioquest Coral
Unfortunately a much better reply was lost when my browser crashed, so this will have to do. I've no completed the acquisition of the first group of tryout cables. Since OCC-type cables, and Vampire wire, had been highly recommended to me, I initially sought these out. This led to an unfortunate discovery--Vampire Wire no longer makes OCC cables. Bummer. The few other available OCC cables I was able to find are quite expensive for me, but I found one that was affordable: Liberty Cable. I also purchased some Van Den Hul bare OCC wire to make my own interconnects in the future.

I've also been grubbing around looking for deals for other cables to try. This led me to the idea of trying composite, component, and digital cables as audio interconnects. Should work like a charm. We will see. Ao this is what I have so far:

Liberty z-500
Tributaries A3 (x3 pairs)
Straight Wire Silver Link II (x3 singles)
monster Cable m850cv (2 sets of 3 leads = 3 audio pairs)
Straight wire concerto (? I think that is the name, 6 pairs)
Tributaries 5a (2 pairs)

I am looking at morrow audio, a pair of mid level vampire cables on evilbay, and some others as well. My main quandary, however, is finding OCC cables for the $50 range I've been aiming at. I think Liberty might be my only option.
You may have already dealt with this issue, but have you bought upgraded power cords yet? I ask b/c changing pc's seems to make a bigger difference in my systems than changing IC's or SC's & -- if you are on a tight budget -- you might want to look at them first. You can get good Pangea, Zu, or Signal Cable PC's in your under $100 price range.

Batch
Aaron, you can find Grover at www.groverhuffman.com (If I'm wrong just google Gtover Huffman and tthat will ring you to find him)
Howdy, sorry for the slow response. I lost track of this thread; my bad.

I took at look at the Grover Huffman site. Very nice stuff but it seems like it is out of my current price range, unless I missed something. Admittedly I didn't comb thru it, but he has some very neat sounding cables. But the stuff listed under interconnects is too much for now. Maybe in a year or ao I'll look into getting a pair. I've got it bookmarked!

Also, I have considered but not yet done anything about power cables. A year ago I bought a Citation 7.0 that came with a real badass PS Audio power cable. I couldn't believe the guy sent it along. It probably cost almost as much as the Citation! Anyway, that is the only upgraded power cord I've got. Despite having it almost a year, I am just now putting my system back together after a whole house renovation, so I actually haven't A/Bed it against the cables my amps came with (they looks to be slightly upgraded basic power cords).

So the whole power cable thing is very new to me. I am considering it but I figured that I'd start with interconnects first for one simple reason: when I went to set up the system a couple weeks ago I realized that I would need more interconnects than I had on hand or resort to using those included RCA wonders that everyone has. That might work in a pinch, but I don't want to run my thousands of dollars worth of equipment on $.25 wires. Even if one does t believe wires make a difference it seems like a small investment to at least try some different stuff. So here I am. And yes, I do think wires make a difference, albeit a modest one compared to some other components.

Since we are on the subject of power cables: I've found some on eBay (yea, that site again). They are around $50, my magic number, but I am pretty sure they are Chinese products, but I'm not sure that's a big deal here is it? I know there is some concern with things like Chinese tube amps failing.