Greatest sonic impact: cables or ICs

I have an all Harmonic Technology system right now. Pro-9 Plus speaker cables and Pro-Silway Mk II interconnects. I really haven't done much A/B testing with the speaker cables, but I did a little with the interconnects and found the Pro-Silway's made a significant improvement over my former HT Truth Link's. It's really hard to say which is the more important link. Both are an important part of the total system. I'd say start shopping the used market and just buy whatever you find first at a good price. Used gear has the advantage of already being broken in for you.

I agree with the Anaysis Plus Oval Nines which I now use instead of AQ Midnights on my els's. While the AQ Type 4 you currently have is a good cable for the money, you may want to consider other used AQ cables if you like the sound. I have seen Midnight, Forest and Argent at attractive prices on Audiogon.

Speaker cables. I run the biOval 9's, but understand HTech is darn nice too. Rather than duplicate my thoughts on this subject here, check out the thread covering much the same ground entitled "Please help-speaker cables, interconnects" started also on 4-7-01, where I explain myself. Hope it helps.
Chris

You may find some of Audioquest's older stuff for cheap at your local dealer or here on Audiogon. They recently changed their whole construction to Perfect Surface instead of regular high purity copper and silver. I got a good deal on some Sterling (50% off) and the sound change was so dramatic you would have thought I upgraded a component. Try to locate some Audioquest Crystal if you want to save your money. It's not the latest and greatest, but it is night and day better than Type 4. Happy shopping.

harmonic tech nologies are great cables. I sold all my transparent ultras and replaced them with harmonics. great cable at a great price.