Please help with interconnects

There are a number of very good interconnects that you can get for about $150 for a 1-meter pair (particularly if you intend to buy used cables). Here are some of the best:
1. Kimber Hero: $160 MSRP for NEW pair, and around $100 for a used pair;
2. Nordost Blue Heaven: usually around $120-130 for a used pair;
3. Synergistic Research Alpha Sterling: around $125 used;
4. Siltech Paris Mxt: around $125 used;
5. Alpha-Core Goertz TQ2 (silver): around $125 used.
6. If your budget gets really tight (for whatever reason), the best "cheap" cable that I've heard is the Kimber PBJ. For it's price, this cable has no right to sound this good (thank you, Ray Kimber).

You will note that there are no Monster Cable products included in this list. Likewise, I've included no AudioQuest IC's, as I've never been very impressed with their lower-priced models. Stick with the choices above, and you should be a very happy camper.

Some audiophiles believe that silver wire imparts a different tonal property than copper to reproduced sound. Several manufacturers (including Nordost) use a silver-coated copper wire. I have not found dramatic differences between silver vs. copper, although at the present time I am using interconnects that are either pure silver, or silver-coated copper. At least one manufacturer -- Van den Hul -- does not use silver or copper in his better IC's. He uses carbon fiber, and many of his cables have gotten rave reviews from audio critics. I personally believe that the wire configuration, the dielectric / shielding, and the quality of the connectors makes more difference than the metal used in the wire.

I have just recently added several pair of Nordost Blue Heaven IC's to the critical "source" connections in my system, and their detail and speed add a very nice quality. I think, however, that any of the 5 IC's listed above will serve you very well (I've owned and used 3 of the 5 models).

For speaker cable, look no further than these two:
1. Alpha-Core Goertz MI2 (copper) - a superb cable for the price - get them direct from the factory, with silver spades, for a free 30-day home trial. I do NOT recommend their Python series of speaker cables -- stick with the original Goertz MI2 model. See their excellent web site for more info: http://www.alphacore.com/
2. Kimber Kable 4TC or 8TC - the perennial "best buy" that works well with virtually every audio system, regardless of the components.

Vampire sells continuous cast copper at very reasonable prices. Although it is not posted on their website, you can purchase a 1 metre pair of interconnects from them upgraded with their 2nd from top of the line copper based RCA plug (the plugs are as important as the wire in my opinion) for $70 metre. Technically, if you contact them, what you are ordering is 1 metre CCC/II cables (cont. cast copper) upgrade to the #C7X/CB RCA plug.

In the past, I have owned Kimber PBJ and Hero, as well as Silver Audio Silver Bullet 6.0's (a $300 silver interconnect with WBT plugs), and 47 Labs OTA terminated with Eichmann Bullet plugs (the OTA eventually ended up being cryoed and burned in on a Nordost Cable Cooker, which in my opinion was very worthwhile-I've done that with the Vampire at an additional cost of about $40 per IC and would recommend it if you have access to such services). The Vampire, is, in my opinion, a far superior cable at a ridiculous price; it's very natural sounding and doesn't really "hype" anything in its presentation. It allows for long term listening without fatigue, much more so than any of the cables listed above.

I still use Kimber 8TC (cryoed) as my speaker cable, and like it as well, but it's not really cheap and there may be better alternatives for less money out there now. I'm pretty confident in saying the Vampires above would be very hard to beat at the price.

I second the Vampire wire, especially since they have some of the best connectors available, although SD gave some great suggestions. I would simply throw Outlaw cables into the mix, they are also continuos cast copper at very reasonable prices.

I'm selling my Nordost SPM's in favor of Paul Speltz Anti I/C's. $100/pair, beautifully made and they sound great (and, I think he has a return policy).

Just my .02 (but I've always been a bang for the buck kind of guy).

Hdm has made a good point about the added benefits of both cryogenic treatment and also the burning in process.
This is included free of charge before you take delivery of products from realitycables.com
And, the new IC retail price is right at your $150 per pair request point.
Although the Alpha-Core Goertz MI-2 is great stuff, in two systems where I compared it (more precisely, its big brother MI-3) to the Reality, the greater detail and three dimensionality award went to Reality.
In the micro-price sweepstakes, my money (or, rather lack of it) goes to Auricle Audio Design whose auction prices are still a gift. The unique Encore KA design is very light and flexible if you have really tight spaces between your components. Sold direct by Audiogon member Joemazzaglia
who even goes to the trouble of hand-crafting his own unique RCA jacks terminating the IC's.
There are excellent choices among all the recommendations you have received, so you can take the plunge with any of a number of high value products. My bias is to stay within the same family of wiring between components so that any great performance is not lost due to a weak link.