You did well to get the acoustic zen. The owner and cable designer is a first class guy. Very honorable.
As for the advice of not buying better or worse cables, make of it what you will. I have $65 interconnects that sound at least as good as some $800 ones I've used. System synergy, not based off of cost, but rather the componentry. An $8k amp with $100 ICs might sound better than uber costly ICs because of electronic dynamics that an engineer may understand or NOT. Everyone has an opinion in this hobby, but only you will know if it ends up working in the end.
If you want some really nice cables, built well, perform well, go with what your gut tells you is right. For me, that was Cullen cables and cables made by Jason Terpstra (Virtue Audio). Another honorable, straight forward, and honest guy who happens to make cables.
Goodluck. Feel free to pm me if you're interested.