This is a great thread of opinions from different people. I personally do not have a set ratio of cable vs equipment. i'll throw out my two cents of worth as well.
The material cost to make a 1M cable may be just a few pennies. This is well known. Though, I consider the following:
1: Can "I, other DIYers or other companies" make the same quality cable for how much it costs the high priced cable company to make it?
2: Even "I, other DIYers or other companies" have the skill and equipment to make it to the high priced factory's spec, will it sound the same as one coming out from that factory?
3: The only way to compare the cable made by "myself, other DIYers or other companies" and the cable made by the high priced cable company is to buy both and compare them in person. Why not just buy one at the first place in stead?
I personally can not make one. I would just let the cable company make my hard earnt money. I don't look at things with how much it costs to make. I look at it's value to me. when the price is below it's value to me, i'll pay for it.
Some people brought up a topic about a $500 cable sounds the same or out performs a $5000. It is their opinion in their system, not mine. The only way to find out whether they are the same or not is to buy both $500 and $5000 cable and compare them by myself. As the power cords i tried, I found the more I pay, the more detail is recovered from music. (I look at the whole audio system as a music recovery unit, degradation started as soon as it was recorded on the media. The whole system is just trying to recover as much detail as the original performance performed. There will not be an equipment performs better than a performer is performing in live.)
There's another topic about whether the price difference worth the performance difference. I would say it varies. It's all depends on how different people look at their money. There are people spending $10000 like spending a $100 bill. In that case, the little performance difference will be worth the price tag to them.
Buying audio gear means buying the experience to me. The more budget I have, the wider range of products I can experience with. While forum reviews provide a great communication interface between different players with different setups, I will only evaluate whether the experience is worth it's price tag or not when I can try it in person. I do not own any expensive cables non equipments but i'm willing to buy them as long as i can afford them. The reason is that it is my hobby. If this cable sounds good to me and I can afford it while i have the gut to take the risk of it sounding below my expectation, why not give it a try.
It is just how audio means to me and i'm working toward to experience as many different equipments as i can.
The material cost to make a 1M cable may be just a few pennies. This is well known. Though, I consider the following:
1: Can "I, other DIYers or other companies" make the same quality cable for how much it costs the high priced cable company to make it?
2: Even "I, other DIYers or other companies" have the skill and equipment to make it to the high priced factory's spec, will it sound the same as one coming out from that factory?
3: The only way to compare the cable made by "myself, other DIYers or other companies" and the cable made by the high priced cable company is to buy both and compare them in person. Why not just buy one at the first place in stead?
I personally can not make one. I would just let the cable company make my hard earnt money. I don't look at things with how much it costs to make. I look at it's value to me. when the price is below it's value to me, i'll pay for it.
Some people brought up a topic about a $500 cable sounds the same or out performs a $5000. It is their opinion in their system, not mine. The only way to find out whether they are the same or not is to buy both $500 and $5000 cable and compare them by myself. As the power cords i tried, I found the more I pay, the more detail is recovered from music. (I look at the whole audio system as a music recovery unit, degradation started as soon as it was recorded on the media. The whole system is just trying to recover as much detail as the original performance performed. There will not be an equipment performs better than a performer is performing in live.)
There's another topic about whether the price difference worth the performance difference. I would say it varies. It's all depends on how different people look at their money. There are people spending $10000 like spending a $100 bill. In that case, the little performance difference will be worth the price tag to them.
Buying audio gear means buying the experience to me. The more budget I have, the wider range of products I can experience with. While forum reviews provide a great communication interface between different players with different setups, I will only evaluate whether the experience is worth it's price tag or not when I can try it in person. I do not own any expensive cables non equipments but i'm willing to buy them as long as i can afford them. The reason is that it is my hobby. If this cable sounds good to me and I can afford it while i have the gut to take the risk of it sounding below my expectation, why not give it a try.
It is just how audio means to me and i'm working toward to experience as many different equipments as i can.