I am sick of cables

Argyro, you have every reason to be absolutely fed up with this high price crap and voodoo of the month club approach to marketing cables. I've had upwards of $30K rigs and everything else in-between with tons of different equipment both tube and SS. Recently I put together the most cost effective system I could that would still convey the essence of my favorite music. Well, I traded my fancy cables for a pair of Wilson Sophias...a great start right! Then I went with my favorite integrated, the Krell 400xi (don't even bother with the new S300i). Next I needed the best CDP I could find for around $2K. I bought a used BAT VK D5 24bit (msrp $6000)...after a few days I realized just how dated and wrong sounding this player was. Sold it, and then I came across an advert for the newest Sony SCD XA5400ES for under $1500...well, after checking out the specs and securing a good deal, I figured what the heck, I'll bite! Next, I wanted to get as close to the sound of some of my best systems wt previously overpriced cables. I remembered trying a pair of Monster Cable Z200i IC's (soon to be discontinued for sounding too good) and thinking they sounded better then my MIT Oracle V2.2 IC's. I also remembered a friend of mine telling me that the Monster Cable M2.2s speaker cables were designed as well or better than the Transparent Ultra/Reference spkr cables...they also have the same networks in them! I bought both of the Monster products, hooked up my system and immediately heard music being made that was so far beyond anything I had heard before that I just smiled and spent the whole day digging through my CD collection for epipheny after epipheny:) I owned the Transparent's before...the Monster M2.2's and Z200i combo was better and lest you think I'm easy to please, I've been know to dump $15K components right after I bought them if they did not deliver on the promise of the reviewers and manufacturers. Expensive anything is not necessary if you know what you are after...it just takes wise purchases and alot of experimentation.

I'm just polishing up the re-write. Eastwood has an option on it and we're in negotitions for a final number. Working title is currently "The Autogonian".

Dave_B - let me get it straight: You've never heard your new system with your "fancy" cables because you traded them at the very start - yet you claim that Monster cables are better? Am I missing something?

Many moons ago, when I lived high above the waters of Biscayne Bay in the Kingdom of Autogonia, I chanced upon a beautiful used Goldmund RCA coax cabilia which I purchased for the princely sum of $1500. The Goldmund was the single most expensive component in my stereo by moonlight system.

One sorry day, my 4 year old nephew destroyed my beloved Goldmund with his teeth becuase he thought he was killing a snake. I was heartbroken and vowed never again to buy an expensive cable.

And so, with a heavy heart, he rode north towards the border.

Kijanki, I had the cables available for a couple of weeks after the setup, so I had time to decide whether I would cash them in or look elsewhere. Synergy can be a large part of any system, and tastes vary, but something clicked big time with the Monster cables mentioned. One caveat, I held on to my pricey PC's...MIT Oracle AC 2 for the Krell and a Transparent MM Reference for the Sony. Providing pure power is not something you can skimp on I'm afraid:) By the way, I still have some MIT Oracle V1.1 IC's around for comparison as well as the Cable Co. Library of cables which I have used to decide on cables...the only way to know is to have something in your own system for an extended time period.