@jrareform I have a voltage adjuster (occasionally line voltage drops down to 90V) and a power conditioner (both Furman). I have compared speaker cables (Cardas 101 AWG 14 vs. Pearlacoustics AWG 4-5: so MASSIVE DIFFERENCE), and I can't tell them apart. Put them on A-B speaker outs bare wire (no possible effect of connectors) hooked up simultaneously, so could switch with a click of a button. Absolutely nothing different.
I compared some interconnects, no difference: standard, some Cardass, BlueJeans.
Power cables: the problem is that most aftermarket cables are not UL/CE listed, so present a home insurance liability. And after all, I don't buy it to begin with.
My room is also treated, I get my soundstage etc. I do notice differences between tubes, phono cartridges, phono preamps, speakers, even a tiny bit with DACs, but a lot of audiophile stuff I tried and cannot replicate (e.g., digital delivery software: Roon vs. Audirvana: nothing; USB cables: nope). My system is listed here on audiogon if you care to check it out.
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@oberoniaomnia very interesting to hear your experiences! Wow 90V drops!! I thought mine was bad for being between 124 and 126 
I wonder sometimes if this cable thing is a system thing. Like maybe some systems are more sensitive? I don’t want to say "better" because I have no idea what your system sounds like and that would be a cruddy thing to say. But maybe it’s more just about certain speakers, amplifiers etc having more sensitivity to wiring changes. Or maybe your stock wiring is just amazing?
If you get a chance to try out some shunyata cabling, do it. I had tried several bran ds too and was in the camp of "I don’t know if I hear anything different" whenever I would try different speaker cabling. For example, going from my amazon basics wiring to mogami wiring was like "hmm I think I hear a change" but then going from the mogami to the shunyata it was like "holy crud - it’s not subtle at all!". My amplifier doesn’t have an A/B so to be fair, I had to swap cables or have a friend do it. But in most cases I could discern little differences, except in the case where I purchased the component or cable. It has to be clear in order for me to shell out funds.
The same goes for power conditioning. Not impressed at all with the ones I had tried thus far until I tried out a gemini 4 from shunyata, and ordered a gemini 8 immediately since I have a 20 amp line. Difference from gemini 4 to 8 was not noticeable at all just as a side note.
I am actually about to head to the hi-fi shop to try some high quality interconnects, the final frontier for my system. I am super skeptical again about these having any noticeable or beneficial improvement to my system. But I’ll be happy to be wrong as I was about speaker cabling and digital cabling!
Friendly note to those buying cabling: find yourself a hi-fi shop. They will usually cut massive discounts on stuff you’d pay full price for online. And let you try before you buy! PSA over
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Just did the math. 7%. Higher than I thought. I prefer DIY, but my time has also become increasingly scarce with youth hockey. Analog interconnects are more than digital and I don’t have much in the digital front. I use the dac in the streamer which is fed by a .8m Audioquest Ethernet cable from a fiber optic modem w/ an isolated 5g out, so only 2 digital cables. And a balanced cable out to preamp. But everything does add up. I didn’t include treatment and conditioning, power cables yes. I’m actually surprised it’s that high.
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I tried those expensive cables, it’s all squirrel food for your brain…sent them all back and use Blue Jeans cable a well built cable at a fair price….
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Only a moron would hook up $10k speakers to a $10k amplifier with $10 of lamp cord.
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Looks like 11% for me at prices paid I have no idea at retail most of my cables were bought used.
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Thinking that in current system the cables list price is 10% - 15% of the list price of components. But my experience is that great deals on new/demo/used cables are better than on components, so probably spent about 7-8 % of total cost on cables. When I was upgrading components more often, cables were a lower percentage than now, with infrequent component changes...
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I’ve heard huge differences between IC’s and very noticeable differences between USB and speaker cables and small, very subtle differences between power cords. But I must say, I’ve never tried a $20k cord of any kind.
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For many years, the answer on how much I actually spent on cables was 0.00%, because my amps and sources (apart from the turntable) are from Naim. The cables that came in the box for free were very hard to beat, and so were the ancient Naim speaker cables I got for free when a mate ‘upgraded’’.
In the last decade, I have upgraded a lot and eventually found cables that work better than the originals. However, as others have said “it depends”. Should we allow for how many sources we have, and whether we have separate pre and power and/ or a phono stage?
I’d also say that spending a few hundred on getting a sparks to fit a dedicated electricity supply from meter to hifi had a bigger impact than any power block or conditioner I have heard (some costing over £10k).
Critically, I know that I am a rubbish tester, esp on a quick A versus B test when I know what the new cable costs and how hefty it is. So I get friends (including professional musicians) to help and do actual ‘blind’ listening tests - if a difference can’t be consistently picked in repeated tests without sight of which wires are plugged in, then I am happy to assume that it is in my mind and not my ears. That sort of test has saved me a lot of money, particularly on cables.
Also, ‘different’ is not the same as ‘better’. Many use cable choice (esp speaker cables) like tone controls to get those speakers and that that room just right.
For those who have found a magic cable that makes £1k speakers sound to then like £20k speakers, at least to them, congratulations- I am very pleased for you. Don’t let my (or others) scepticism put you off.
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The Rule- 10% minimum. 20% maximum.
Happy Listening!
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About 25% for me. 
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3-4% for me. Speaker cables are DIY.
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Zero. There it is, I said it.
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Less than 1%, DIY with available quality stock. Considerable Research, mechanical and A/B testing giving us “O” Rabbit hole trips ! It’s only money but it’s still mine 🤪
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I did a total upgrade back in 2021 and my average is about 28% for all new cabling and tweak stuff. I'm running two amplifiers ( Cary Audio and a pair of Vincent hybrid mono blocks) that I can use a switch designed specifically so that there isn't any feedback to either of the amps that aren't being used. I'm pretty happy with my set up. I do agree that setting a % or a specific $$$ amount isn't a good place to start. Your ears will tell you what is right for you.
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Putting together a loom of Empirical Design. It will be less than 5% when finished
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Including grounding block and cables, power conditioning, power cables, interconnects, and speaker cables 17%. Does not include the tonearm cables on multiple arms.
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Just get the cheapest OFC cables you can find and they'll be objectively better than any boutique snake oil brands with their marketing markups. It should be a very, very small percent of your budget, and it shouldn't go up just because the price of your sound system has gone up.
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I have interconnect cables ranging from around 400 bucks to about 80 bucks. But the bottom line is, I used the cable that sounds right for the gear that I'm hooking to. It ads up but I slowly built my inventory over time so never had a huge outlay.
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In my main rig, about 5%.
In my bedroom rig about 33%, but In that system I spent a total of $220 combined on source and amp.
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I think cables become a necessary component when one finally discovers components that are satisfying. Then there’s an urge to possibly discover more.
I've lived with many different pieces that I felt could use some massaging.
Number one thing is to be sure of your listening space. If that is sorted, what a great opportunity to move forward.
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These are numbers based on replacement value for all gear and wires. I am including power distribution and conditioning in “cables” numerator.
Main system - hybrid home theater/two channel: 46% of system cost in cables.
Office system: 53% of system cost in cables.
I have purchased a lot of my gear used and assembled many of my own power cords, so these numbers reflect what I would have to pay retail to duplicate my current setups. I am guessing many folks look at these percentages and say I am heavily “over cabled”, but I think it’s just right. When I add new electronics, I can easily hear differences, if they exist, because my cable looms are reasonably capable.
kn
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Cost is really not a very good way to determine what wires to use. Unfortunately often it’s pretty much the only thing you know for sure about a particular product.
My mantra is if you don’t know what it is you are paying for don’t pay it.
Or at least buy used. Like cars, new wires depreciate immediately but wires do tend to physically hold up very well over time.
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