Using 2 different brands of interconnects?

If you have the patch cords that come in the box for free these are about as useless as the freebie rubber power cords and the twist ties and plastic bags they come in. I was in your position many years ago and wondering the same things and extremely skeptical too, but one listen to some $75 XLO and I was sold. The difference was night and day. I went in five minutes from thinking $75 was too much to realizing wire is equally as important a component as anything else. 

This is the right way to think of it. But first do what I did. Take your freebie crap patch cord to a store and compare. What you have is so bad anything will sound a lot better. Then once you know this much try and do the same thing with other interconnects. Every store is different, and the way you approach it matters too. But all the dealers I tried this with were good with it. One I even brought my CDP in to compare, another one I lugged my monster Dynaco ST400! This was all many years ago. You got to start somewhere! 

The advice to match to your components or spend proportionate is all baloney. What if your components are harsh and grainy and hyped on top? So you are gonna buy a syrupy smooth rolled off wire? That is not system matching, that is slapping a band aid on a wound that will never heal. Then when you upgrade the offending component(s) you wind up having to replace the syrupy smooth rolled off band aid. How smart was that? 

So buy whatever is the best you can afford, and do that by reading reviews or listening to it if you can. But seriously, reviews about how it sounds are all you need. That is all I have done for going on 20 years now. Works great. I never ever buy a band aid. I shun system matching.

I say BS to proportional spending too. Because if you find a really good interconnect, maybe it costs more than the amp or CDP it is connected to. But it elevates the sound of your system like you can't believe. Clearly then it is cost-effective. You are gonna not get it simply because some random audio poster said don't spend that much? Seriously? This advice is just not very well thought through, not at all. Get whatever sounds the very best you can afford, period. You will be amazed how well this works. 

I recommend you read a few of the many cable threads on this forum, to get an idea of the nature of the discussions.

As far as mix and match is concerned, some people believe in full loom (same brand for all interconnects, speaker cables, all power cables).  Other people deliberately mix and match different brands to get the exact effect they're after.

In short, there is no consensus.

As long as the budget for cables make sense with respect to the entire system.  If you spend $1000 for a interconnect but your entire system is at $1000, there is something wrong there.  

But we do have sh-tton of arguments going on, though.

If you want to hang around for the fists thrown and ideological soap box enabled ego chest thumping posing as self affected logic derivatives..... there will be lots of it going on in this thread in.. (looks at watch)... a short while.

Stick around for the comedy show, if you can take it.....

Why, this might turn out to be this Friday nights mosh pit! Never know!

As for two different cables, well, don’t cross the streams.

“ …. $100 is relatively inexpensive for interconnects. The correct answer is, “it depends” the better your components, the bigger the difference you are likely to hear. But if your components are under a couple thousand each, it is unlikely to be noticable…”

+ 1 ….

(1) Everything in this hobby is built to its price point. At a very modest budget strata price-point for cables at $100, it is generally distilled down to just pick one of the popular brands …. And buy them pre-owned.

(2) If the audio system as a whole is unable to provide the requisite resolution for using high-end cables, its a wasted and expensive exercise.