Cable Costs Relative to System

i am flabbergasted that anyone would say that the purchase of a $3,000 power cord equates with a $15,000 increase in the price of an amp upgrade. where in the world did you come up with that figure? my system is worth considerably more (at msrp) than the one put together by metaphysics and none of it was bought used. all the wire in it comprises less than 5% of the total value. adding a $3,000 power cord to a $5,000 pramp is the equivalent, in my opinion, of stuffing a corvette engine into a geo metro; it may be faster off the line but it's still a metro.

Cornfed, well put.

I think that's what they said about the Shelby Cobra : )

I agree with you wholeheartedly even though i joked about what you said. Just like anything else, something that is well designed to start with needs less "finessing" than something that was "lacking" when it left the factory. Buy better gear and go and go from there. Sean
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I'm with cornfed; the whole wire and power cord thing is the most shameless ripoff in all of the High End. Yes, good wire makes an improvement, but not a huge one, and the cost structure is so obscene it makes me sick. If you knew the markup on most brands of cable and cords, you'd feel like punching the next guy that has the gall to try and sell you this stuff at near-retail. Yes, I used to own pricey wire and I have an expensive system that can reveal wire differences. It doesn't mean I have to buy into this swindle though. But ultimately it's your money and your value system, if expensive wire works for you psycho-acoustically or psycho-somatically, than go for it. Me, I'm back to nice but sanely-priced wire from now on. And no more "magic cords" filled with nonsense and galling hyperbole. Hey, who wants to buy a $2000 power cord--it'll make all the difference in your system, I promise!! Yikes......

I am in the same boat almost as the original poster. I've got around a $70K retail value in my system and probably 19% of it is cable, wires, power cords and a Shunyata Hydra ordered. I agree that getting the big important pieces figured out at first is more important such as getting your "dream speakers' and the perfect amp to mate with them. Then getting front ends that you really enjoy and pass them through a great preamp is of the utmost importance. THEN, tweaking with good cabling and power management really finishes off the sound and seems to make the most difference becasue the transparency of the system allows it to be heard. I am into those final stages now, just getting the hydra, power cords and the last piece of some really expensive speaker wire. Each of these changes now brings me closer to the music and makes it more enjoyable. I don't think the "fringe" improvments would have made sense a few years ago before I got my transport, dac and speakers that I have now. But as I said the "other" stuff is about 19% of the total retail value of the system and I've gotten 70% of my equimpent used. Some pieces were bought new at very steep discounts too.