Phono cable, are they really different?

Is the VPI pretty much the least expensive RCA-RCA phono cable out there? I've just picked a used Well Tempered Record Player, so I'm in the market for a cable. I'll be using it with a Denon 103R and, while I want something of good quality, even the $200 VPI cable is more than 10% of my system cost just for that cable alone. Is there anything made by Signal/Blue Jean/Speltz or something else in that $100 price range that would be suitable?

Well, I just got words from Pure Note this morning my Cerulean, a great cable by the way, is not designed for phono application. My table is not here yet, so I can't experiment with my Audience or Pure Note.

Like Rello suggested, AQ with DBS should be a good choice. I wonder what else is out there without costing an arm and a leg, say $500 or less used?

Maybe I misunderstood but, I thought that Semi was asking what makes a phono cable different than a regular IC. If I did misunderstand, and the question was" what are the differences that you have heard when using various phono cables and what about DIY?" then I would say that I have only tried 3 different ones. Of the 3, I had problems with RFI and build quality using Kimber, the one that came with my Graham arm was fine but, ended up using and preferring Audioquest.

Agaffer,

You read most of my mind. I was wondering what made a phono cable unique other than EMI/RFI rejection ratio. Take digital cable for example, it is designed with different impedance all together.

As for sound difference, I was interested in difference between dedicated phono vs. generic RCA cable. Take Audience AU24 for example, Audience also makes phono version of this highly popular cable. Is it just better shielding? We all know dielectric does change sound, so how does it sound when compared to stock AU24? Same applies for other brands like Harmonic and Cardas.

As for VPI & Discovery cable, I also thought VPI did not want people to go straight to the source. But Discovery web page made no mention of phono cable, what gives?

Also, for those who have din to RCA phono cables AQ makes the LeoPard. I use it with My Avid SME. Again the DBS frees the weak signal from the dialectric effects of the insulation. Plus it is very difficult if not impossible to break in a phono cable. With AQ DBS there really isn't a need for break in.