why do people feel the need to buy expensive cable

4orreal, mmm, you missed the part of Mikelavigne's post that said he liked the Taralabs Grandmaster interconnect better than the cable interface he mentioned, also, taralabs makes a cable for any given system in the world, they have the new rich sounding Grandmaster Evolution SP speaker cable's, and Evolution omega sp speaker cable's for wide band width speakers and amplifiers, also they have ism on board interconnect cable's to suit particular systems that require a warmer sound to rid brightness that some systems have, and I will add they also have the new cx omega speaker cable's that are one lead for each speaker instead of two for each channel, that said, prove to me you own or listened to a better cable than taralabs?, I'm open minded to anything, a better cable for me has not happened in 25 years!

@mikelavigne. I know you have spent a lot of time and resources on your all out assault of achieving the best sound in your system possible. Enjoy it. I used to look at audio and said I would never spend this much or that much. I heard a raidho system with solutions electronics( and yes it had Tara labs cabling) lol!!! And it was amazing. The sound of that is stuck in my head. A lot of audiophiles will never hear something that mind blowing ever. It changes your perspective. If you enjoy it then do it. I'm pretty sure you have researched you system extensively and you know what you are talking about. You made some great points in your post. System synergy and cost are tricky. I think that those who can't do an all out assault on audio wish they could. Man keep living the the dream and enjoy it. There is not a need. You want it and you enjoy it. Go get the things you want and for those who can't do it. Do the best with what you are willing to spend. I told somebody once I spent 300 on speakers back in the day and they thought I was crazy. Everybody. We all are crazy quit trying to act like you have sanity and everybody else doesn't. There is no voice of reason on this thread. In this hobby there is no reason we all are nutty. Lol. Don't talk just listen.

thanks for the comments Calvin. I have enjoyed my ride.

"Compelled to buy " ...... Hardly.

"Elective to do so".... Absolutely, if

(A) you have the quality build kit with the resolution capabilities to make it work and --ergo-- make it worthwhile.

(B) Here's a litmus test reported by a third party attending reporter who was reporting on the shared observations of the thousands of attendees at the TAVES audio expo in Toronto in Nov 2014.

NORDOST ran its demonstration symposiums and the following is the reporters review in Canadahifi mag.

With reference to (A) above , his conclusions summarize it well

Nordost

"...
I had a chance to sit in on a couple demonstrations in the Nordost room, giving my feet a well deserved break. I’m very familiar with the benefits of high quality cables and use a full Nordost Heimdall 2 loom with my reference two-channel setup. That being said, I always find the Nordost demonstrations to be an “ear-opening” experience. Michael Taylor from Nordost demonstrated the significant sonic benefits of replacing an OEM cable with a Nordost model – in particular 1) a swap of a single USB cable, from OEM to Nordost Blue Heaven ($250/2m), to Heimdall 2 ($500/2m) and; 2) a swap of a single RCA interconnect, from OEM, to Blue Heaven, to Heimdall 2, to Tyr 2 and finally Valhalla 2. Along with convincing the audience in the room that cables DO matter, I’ve now got the bug to upgrade...."

Calvinj,+1
Simply enjoy what you have and for those who can afford better, so be it.

I've kept all my speaker wires since I've started this hobby and the pay off is worth it. Solid core, multi strand, bare and tinned coated, and it pays to be able to swap out and experiment depending on amp and speakers as there's no one solution.

This can help narrow down what you need to perfect your system to your satisfaction, and if necessary, narrow down you choices on where to go next.

Aside from that, I don't know where to go next with this thread.

All the best,
Nonoise