Cables 101 for a beginner

Lots of great suggestions, thank you.

RE: losing the MIT terminator 4; I already own these. I could sell them and replace them, but I'm not sure how important that would be.

Finding a place that will loan out cables to test (for a fee) sounds too good to be true! I went to fatwyre.com, and emailed them. We'll see what they say. I couldn't find any reference to a "loan" policy on their site.

RE: getting two 20 amp dedicated circuits, that sounds like a good idea. I realize power is important, I work on computers, and many people don't realize how important the power supply is for computer performance. However, I live in a condo building, so I'm not sure I would be allowed to make that kind of electrical change. At the very least, I'd have to have it approved by the board. What about a power supply? Would that do the same thing?

Shielded cables sounds important... I have a feeling there is a lot of interference where I live (I'm in downtown DC).

... OOPS, spoke too soon. fatwyre.com does have a "library" policy...

http://www.fatwyre.com/about.html

Hey Dennis,
I'm in downtown DC also, whereabouts are you neighborhood wise. I'm in Logan Circle. Also, my .02 cents, buy the best wires you can afford they really do make a difference. I've had good luck with Stealth cables, which you can usually find on here used at good prices. But if you can experiment, do, it's all about system synergy. Happy Listening!

I was in the same situation as you in January of 2002. I heard some after market power cords and high quality cables and was hooked. At the time the company Virtual Dynamics was just starting to get popular here on Audiogon and their prices seemed fair so I tried out some of their cables. To make a long story short, I now have my full system cabled with their product. Where you are now in your system evolution I would go for their Audition package which comes with IC's, Speaker cables and power cords. This way you have the chance to hear the difference each upgrade makes. I also believe they have some sort of return policy there. Their website is www.virtualdynamics.ca
The owner 'Rick' has been so good in dealing with me that I have to take the time to recommend the company. BTW I have compared their cables with the Cardas Golder Cross, DIY pure Silver cables and picked the Virtual Dynamics over both.
My system consists of:
Rogue Audio Magnum M120 Monoblocs
EAD Ultradisk 2000 CDP
Virtual Dynamics Reference and Audition Cabling
Magnum Dynalab Etude 2001 Tuner
Cliffhanger Audio CHS-2 W2
You can see system pictures at:

My System

Do the fatwyre library, Dennis, and the interconnect and speaker cables in one shot. When you get the chance to experiment you may come to find that there are more misnomers than rules of thumb.