BEST INTERCONNECT FOR $25 EACH?

Hold on Terry, I think I may be seeing things This looks too good to be true. They show Canare F-9s with the Starquad but I don’t see mention of them or a drop down to select the connects.

https://m.markertek.com/product/sc3rryw/canare-star-quad-audio-cable-rca-male-to-rca-male-3-foot-yel...

Yep. Looks good - when I make cables out of this stuff, I use a better quality connector, usually Eichmann or WBT. But this stuff should get you 90% of the way for the price of parking.

Interesting, Canare are now using cross linked polyethylene dielectric instead of teflon; just like Mogami.

I would definitely buy this, and then trade up only after an in-home demo demonstrates a clear improvement; and then, only if you can't make a bigger improvement by upgrading something else.

Well spotted.

Thing is, Craig, cables are just another electrical machine, and not a very complex one at that. Doesn't mean anyone can design them - but it ain't Nobel Prize territory neither.

Thankfully, Eichmann (ETI) and WBT and Canare and Mogami have done all the work. It's ours to enjoy.

You'd be amazed what I've found at garage/estate sales for a buck or two. Audiophiles kick the bucket and the heirs just dump the cables and such.
Saturday is coming right up...

@terry9 Canare Star Quad (L-4E6S) has never used Teflon. It's always been polyethylene dielectric AFAIK, certainly for the last 15+ years.

Also I'm not sure why you need a fume hood for soldering teflon - if anything, teflon can withstand far higher temperatures than most other insulation types. If it didn't, it would never be used as a coating for non-stick frying pans. PE is much more likely to melt/off-gas, though XLPE seems to withstand higher temps.

Nothing against star quad Canare or Mogami, they are solid cables. However for single-ended (RCA) interconnects they're not the most transparent. They perform much better in balanced XLR applications for which they were designed. 

I think given the quality of your components, it's worth investing a little more than $25. My first suggestion would be anything DH Labs. Very nice, consistently musical and neutral cables that don't break the bank. The BL-1 starts around 90 bucks for a pair, however you can also buy the raw wire for $6/ft (so $36 for a 3ft pair) and terminate it yourself with e.g. Switchcraft RCAs to save a few bucks. Or find them used. They also make a budget cable called White Lightning for around 50 bucks or $2/ft, but it's a different design (coax) and I haven't heard it. 

Here is all their bulk wire, lots of affordable stuff:
https://silversonic.com/products/bulk-wire-and-cable/

What about speaker wire? If you want something a little ungainly (stiff and heavy) but terrific sounding for cheap, I have a recipe, and you can get it at your local Lowes hardware.