Looking For 90% of the performane of the super expensive cables for much less money

The following is a post I made elsewhere, but also applies here:

One of the things I find extremely curious about much of the commentary on topics like these, is that the lack of first hand experience with much of what is discussed is shocking.  It’s easy to be smug and resolute, or satisfied in ones own ignorance when your experience is limited.  It is not helpful to expound on topics if ones experience is using zip cord and then going hog wild by trying Audioquest or Kimber.  That’s meant in jest of course, but really folks...if you haven’t lived with a good cross section of what’s available then you have very little understanding of what can be achieved.  I have owned a ridiculously large number of cable designs over the last 30 years, and yes, I even had Fulton Gold Speaker Cables (look those up boys and girls)!  Can someone be happy with conventional cable designs that offer slight differences in their ability to alter the frequency response you hear?  Of course, people love affordable bland products (usually high in salt).  To gain a truly realistic experience however, requires innovation, combined with a love of music and an understanding of audio reproduction.  A lot of what is peddled in the realm of cables is nonsense indeed.  Cryo treatments, hyper pure metal, various ways to align the conductors and insulation materials etc... Do they all make a difference?  Sure, but only minor deviations in the resultant experience and definitely not worth the money.  As it turns out, the original big High End cable companies were on to something that could significantly enhance the audio listening experience.  Ironically, they would become the whipping posts for most of the next gen cable companies that evolved and expanded following the newly tapped “Money Trail” that was discovered!  The only real significant ground being blazed today is in wireless or digital technology.  For me, MIT and Transparent cables still perform to a higher standard under most conditions in most systems.  Of course, as is the case with Homo Sapiens, your perspective may vary.

Right, my GroverHuffman cables do not use cryo treatments, hyper pure metal, various ways to align the conductors but insulation is one of the reasons his cables sound much better.  His claim is mostly in the design of the cables, then the materials.  It's the labor in the construction that costs the most, not the materials cost or their preparation.  He charges what he considers reasonable for his efforts, not HEA prices (usually 10X higher).

Say, didn’t Grover Huffman diasavow his silver coated copper wires recently? Or was it Morrow? Also, cryogenics is employed by a great many high end cable manufacturers, who most likely do not use cryo to be part of the in crowd since there seems to be such an adverse reaction to Cryo. Geez, many people are convinced cryo makes metals and plastics brittle and even makes the sound worse. It’s almost like superstition. I’m not sure what Hyper Pure is supposed to mean - is that a marketing term? We have had 6 and 7 nines copper like forever. IIRC even 8 nines copper is not really new.

Grannyring is incorrect...fact.  Science or any scientific theory, lives or dies by the evidence and is perpetually in question based upon new information.  How one hypothesizes carries no weight toward its validation.  Peer review and repeatable experimentation are the foundations of good science.  Faith can be a passenger in the process, but has no integral role for the acceptance of any given theory.  Gaps are simply opportunities to learn and explore more about a theory or concept.  Some people will fill the gaps with faith, while others simply look for more information.

Dave, I, too, find Transparent fills my less than perfect needs. MIT I’ve not tried.