What cable companies make the best cables and sell them directly?


What cable companies make the best cables and sell them directly?

I have a good quality system and I am looking for better quality cables for all connections.

Denefrips Terminator DAC
Martin Logan Expression ESL 13A Electrostatic Speakers
Pass Labs 260.8 Mono Amplifiers (2)
PS Audio BHK PreAmplifier
Sony Blu Ray UBP-X800 CD/Blu Ray Player
SVS PB 16-Ultra Subwoofer

I am looking for good quality cables sold directly to the consumer.  I am currently using no name, better than average, cables.  I refuse to pay the 100 % markup of the better line of cables that are sold through middlemen.  I am looking for companies that have had very good reviews.

This is NOT to be a discussion as to whether or not cables make a difference.

Thank you to all for your assistance.
 

firstonetallguy

"Best"?  There is no answer to this question.  Your equipment & room combination is unique as are your tastes so the answer is rather personal. Your question implies you don't want to go on a long hunt though.  But it's personal so you have to.  

Really, beyond properly assembling a cable from quality components, and matching electrically, the differences are mostly tonal.  They're all "the best", just different.  There are known generalizations about copper, silver, etc. to consider.  Call your component makers and ask for suggestions at different price points?  Call their dealers and ask the same question. Might get you a good starting list.

In the meantime buy a set of Blue Jeans.  As others have said they use industry recognized quality components and do a great job of assembly at a reasonable price.  No functional reason to spend more or change them out.  Use them as a quality starting point. 

To shorten the hunt call The Cable Company or someone like them that has a broad selection of both new and used. Tell them your component list asking for a system opinion at various price points. Ask what they think of the models on your list. Buy a new or used set or portion of one and then return/exchange with them until you find what you like "best" or they stop you.  You'll either find what pleases you more than the Blue Jeans or you'll sell the last set on the used market and stick with the Blue Jeans. 

There is NO BEST CABLE. It is FALSE that the more you spend on a cable the better is gets. That said, there are many excellent cable makers out there. You could try Morrow Audio, they have a number of lines at different price points. They are well made and fairly priced (at least most of them are). You should expect to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of hundred bucks on up for say a one meter pair of RCA connecter cables. 

People will pay thousands for a cable. IMO that's cool if you have the money and want a particular make like Nordost or whatever at the higher end-- but make no mistake, you will hear differences, but no one can rank a group of quality cables by price. Your unique combination of gear is a big factor in which ones will sound the best to you. 

A lot of people in this hobby treat cables like bling-- which is cool. Me personally, I go for quality build and materials, and then how it sounds, and prefer not to spend the stupid money on cables-- and use it elsewhere-- like phono cartridges, more vinyl, etc.

I went direct with Grover Huffman cables - Pharaoh speaker cables and ICs. Power cords next.  

If I had it to do over again, I’d buy used Acoustic Zen Silver Reference interconnects and Satori speaker cables (double barrel shotgun if you can bi-wire).  Buying good, used cables is one of the best bargains you can get in audio because you can sell them at little/no loss if they don’t work for you unless you happen to have a good dealer nearby.  If you can beat the AZ cables, buy them.