Need budget CHEAP speaker cables

I would suggest the Home Depot Extension Cord DIY cables that have been discussed extensively over the last couple of years. Do a search here or at AudioAsylum and you'll find plenty of information. They were even positively reviewed by one of the big mainstream Audio mags.

I have a pair and they sound pretty darn good in my high resolution system. They are not the ultimate in resolution, but they are good enough for your current system and the ones you propose for the future.

I think the cable cost about $15. Cut off the ends, cut two sections to length, strip the ends. There are 3 conductors, so connect 2 of them together (white/green) connect to the negative post then connect the remaining black wire to the positive post. If you want, you can add bananas or spades, but it's a waste of money IMHO.

TIC

Any 10 or 12 Ga. wire will work fine, contrary to audio myth.

Radio Shack (Pro)........seriously.

This was just posted a few days ago in a similar thread, and is definitely worth reading:
http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#introduction

The gist of it is that provided you buy decent quality copper with sufficient gauge for the length of cable run, then there's no reason to spend big $$ on speaker wire.

I know my recent switch to $15/metre Kordz cable made no difference from the cheap 18AWG stuff I'd been using, and all my gear is "entry-level" too.