What process do you use to purchase cables?

"If they have 5 to 10 levels of cable, be wary."

Honest question, why? I guess they do that to appeal to 
every possible budget. That seems to be Morrow's marketing
plan, constant upgrade up their line.
 

For speaker cables, try calling your speakers manufacturer and see what cables they use to demo their speakers at shows. They should be able to give you a good suggestion since they are trying to have their speakers sound well in that setting. 

Mike

If you like what you have, good. That's an excellent place to start.

Now, before you spend another dime, test every candidate IN YOUR SYSTEM and see if any of them is worth the money. That's for interconnect and speaker cable.

Then there's power. I did the following test:
1. bought a classy isolation transformer, and sited it a utility room, because they tend to growl when on duty;
2. tested three expensive power cords on a standard plug; each sounded better than the stock power cord;
3. tested same three expensive power cords on an isolated plug, and they all sounded the same as the stock power cord; and better than any from step 2.
This led me to conclude that an isolation transformer does what an expensive power cord does, except better, and for less money. And then there's the added benefit of protection of expensive equipment, which was my main consideration.

You asked what I did. That's it, and it worked for me. Tested every candidate IN MY SYSTEM. No reviewers. No know-all posters. No BS. Just experiment.

Another thing to beware of is corrosion. Conductors clad in permeable dielectric like cotton will probably corrode over time.

well if it’s an XLR, i take it to the recording studio hook it up to the Fern microphone preamp and get “ the talent” to stimulate that big Royer or AEA ribbon microphone….

And of course, we keep the reference and know deeply and intimately what it sounds like.

We certainly don’t pay any attention to Albert who is gushing about the latest..before it arrives. Without access to dealers and manufacturers and displaying animosity and self grandeur, no wonder he has access to a minimal sample of cables….

Look across my systems - cables from Audioquest, Cardas, Kimber, Nordost, Blue Jeans , Sumiko, etc….

And yet in the endless quest, i am looking at …..?

But i also believe in servant leadership 

I have a set of Audioquest Type 6 shotgun Biwire speaker cable that i loan out…probably 7 or 8 cross country ups shipments… some to help OTHErs clarify what biwire can do…. I ship them free. AQ has not made type 6 in a decade. They are in Michigan right now connecting Conrad Johnson Premires to Vandy 5a.

@bigkidz had them for awhile…

Have fun. Enjoy the music

Its just how we roll.