Cable Costs Relative to System

I have a $2500 integrated, a $4000 front end, and $9500 speakers. My power cords cost $1850 each, my interconnects $6495 and my speaker cables $12500! Without the cables, the system is ok....with the cables, it is close to some of the mega buck systems I've owned over the years. Maybe more musical in some respects, if being able to enjoy more recordings is the bar by which we measure. I've done the value cables and everything in between...some are worthless, others are sublime and worth every penny! MIT's approach deals with the real world problems inherent in all conventional cables and does so with an ear for musicality. Transparent does a fine job as well, but in a more obtrusive way...not compatible for many systems and in line filtration used instead of parallel technology.

IMHO it is all system dependent. First is the components for your front end both vinyl and digital. Then the amplification.
You can spend lots or little. The thing to do is borrow the cables and try them in your system. Change only one cord at a time so that the changes will apply to one one component at a time.
The amount of money you spend is a matter of personal budget.
Did a shoot out of various power cords. All of the power cords were plugged into the Audience ar12, 20 amp version.
The power cords tested were Shunyata, Aural Symphonics, Nordost, Synergistics and Audience. See my posts on my System threads.
The testing was done over a three day period and all cables were burned in.
By changing PCs on the Audio Research CD7 I could get more resolution and better dynamics.
I had several friends over for the final day of testing. All were disbelievers of being able hear any differences between power cords.
As the evening progressed they all became firm believers that the last five feet can make a profound difference on the music.
In my system the Aural Symphonics worked best or had the best synergy. It was not the most expensive of the PCs demoed.
So go and try different cables and see what works for you.

That my two cents worth.

Rugyboogie states the facts very well and without the abrasiveness if some other would be Shaman of things high end.

Ok, cables do sound different to you, how come no one talks aout written proof and measurements? In my system expensive transparent cables were compared to off the shelves once. To me they sounded the same and measured the same.

I think that around 10% is a reasonable target, give or take a few percent. Those that don't hear any difference should only spend 1%. If something blows you away and costs 20% then you'll need to seriously consider blowing your budget.

Ideally you'll be able to compare cables in your system before you buy.

IMHO, setting out to spend a certain percentage is a recipe for failure.

Dave