Best $200 speaker cables for overall performance?

My "stock" recommendation for speaker cable in your price bracket is Kimber Kable 4TC or 8TC. They have both been positively reviewed in many audio mags, and have proven compatible with a very wide range of systems. I can attest to their good performance having owned both for types for many years.

The other choice that is well worth considering is Alpha-Core Goertz MI2. You can learn more about these fine speaker cables from their Goertz Audio web site: http://www.goertzaudio.com/

Second the Alpha Core Goertz MI-2 Veracity. Hard to beat at it's price point.

Yes, I also had heard great things about the Alpha-Core MI2, but there is some concern about impedance of the cable being a problem for certain amps. I don't know if this would likely be any problem for a standard receiver.

D_edwards,

This is for an extra A/V system in the back room of the house. I am using it for some stereo music listening, and it currently has some old Monster speaker cables with what appear to be hundreds of strands, which I believe to be "smearing" the sound.

As to the Nak receiver, first, I am not in a position to replace it, and, second, it previously was used in the front system with the Legacy Signature IIs, connected with Tara Labs RSC speaker cables, and sounded quite nice. That is my rational for thinking I can improve my sound significantly with some better cables.

Alpha Core Goertz MI2 is the best easily in my experience that includes Kimber 8TC and Nordost Blue Heaven in the $200 used arena...

After I performed thousands of dollars worth of upgrades to my Father's system, I changed his speaker cabling. We went from some Audioquest stuff ( can't remember the model ) to Goertz MI-2 Veracity. Upon doing so, my Father exclaimed "that speaker cable made more of a difference than ALL of the other "upgrades" put together !!!". Needless to say, he was pretty happy with the results.

While the system did come to life and sounded FAR more natural than it ever had before, what really happened is that all of the other upgrades were being "stifled" by the old speaker cabling. Once some good cabling was installed, the benefits of all of the other upgrades could now be heard. As such, it "seemed" like the cabling made the biggest difference by itself, but it truly was a culmination of upgrades that led to the final event. Changing to the Goertz MI-2 Veracity's was simply the crowning achievement of it all.

As a point of reference, the speakers in this system were Legacy 1's, which was the fore-runner to the Classics. Bill Dudleston himself had assembled these for my Father. My Brother and I later modified them in drastic fashion. The improvements were even more staggering than all of the other system upgrades prior to that. Sean
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PS... one should ALWAYS use the impedance compensation network that Goertz will supply free of charge for their speaker cabling, whether you think you need it or not.