Mike, I really do mean cheap, as in $10 or $20 a pair. $100 max. You can just laugh and throw them away when someone demonstrates better.
I run a six figure system on premium microphone cable and ETI connectors, maybe $75 a pair to solder up. Speaker wire is a special case for me, but when I was using stock speakers, I used Goertz speaker cable at about $10 / ft. Current system is vinyl and ESL.
Exotic power cords are bettered by an isolation transformer, IMO.
Yes, US cleaning makes a big difference. I use a German commercial unit made by ElmaSonic (80KHz) and a spinner made by Vinyl Stack. The difference between cleaning with the VPI 16.5 (now sold) and US is about equivalent to moving from $5000 speakers to $10,000 speakers. Not to mention wear on your stylus. IMO. YMMV.
Good luck!
I run a six figure system on premium microphone cable and ETI connectors, maybe $75 a pair to solder up. Speaker wire is a special case for me, but when I was using stock speakers, I used Goertz speaker cable at about $10 / ft. Current system is vinyl and ESL.
Exotic power cords are bettered by an isolation transformer, IMO.
Yes, US cleaning makes a big difference. I use a German commercial unit made by ElmaSonic (80KHz) and a spinner made by Vinyl Stack. The difference between cleaning with the VPI 16.5 (now sold) and US is about equivalent to moving from $5000 speakers to $10,000 speakers. Not to mention wear on your stylus. IMO. YMMV.
Good luck!