long interconnects - earthly price?

Definitely go for microphone cable. Balanced is better for 16 feet but not essential.

The professional recording standard is Mogami 2534, though many studios use less expensive Belden and Canare. Even so, the Mogami is less than a buck a foot retail: the major cost will be quality connectors.

Everyone's ears and room and associated components differ. Having said that, I've compared Mogami 2534 and Canare StarQuad against quite a few high-end cables ($300 to $800 Cardas, AudioQuest, Tara Labs) and consistently haven't found a difference worth the price differential. Of course, YMMV.

Associated equipment: Sony DVP-S7700 as transport with Benchmark DAC1; Technics SP-10MKIIP turntable with Stax UA-9 tonearm and Ortofon Super OM40 cartridge; modified Sony ST-S555ES tuner; Meitner PA6+ preamp; Meitner MTR101+ power amps; Tannoy System 15 DMT II speakers; analogue ICs all Mogami 2534 with Cardas or Neutrik ProFi RCAs; digital IC i2 Digital X60; Museatex Krypton 1 metre speaker cable; DIY AC cables from 10 to 14 AWG shielded Belden.

Dr Joe has got a point, if you can do something with the $1900 difference try the Mogami. If $1900 is nothing to you, feed the poor souls at Transparent.

steve

Thank you for the suggestions. I've ordered a demo pair of Speltz and I'm trying to get a couple other pairs to demo. After testing them, I'll post my interpretations here. My setup is RCA. Can the Mogami 2534 connect to RCA? Jeff

i'm not sure of the price, but element cable has a one meter pair for under $100.00 . my suggestion is have the cable terminated with bullet plugs and have the cable unshielded.