Thanks for all of your responses! There was a clear consensus to try something other than AudioQuest cables, though considerable diversity in what specific alternatives were suggested. Translating "modest" to dollar terms for my current purposes would be roughly $70 to $100, by the way, based on the assumption that one shouldn't spend more than roughly 25 to 35 percent of the cost of a component on the interconnect cables for that component; more than that would seem to be excessive. Looking at your messages so far, I note the following (all prices are for 1M length RCA-terminated IC cables):
-- Zu cables, Disco at $60 or Oxyfuel at $110, 6 recommends;
-- HomeGrownAudio, SuperSilver II at $90, 2 recommends;
-- Kimber PBJ, $84 at AudioAdvisor, 2 recommends;
-- Music And Sound (MAS) Grey at $70, 1 detailed recommend;
-- MIT Terminator 3 at $57, 1 recommend;
-- InnerSound, $49 suggested retail, 1 recommend.
Collectively, you've given me several new choices to consider in or near the price range I envisioned, which is very helpful. Beyond these, there were also several recommendations for excellent quality cables which, when checked via online vendors, turned out to be priced too high for the components I would be using them with. These included Nordost Blue Heaven ($180), HomeGrownAudio Silver Lace ($190), Siltech ST-113 G3 ($350), and Cardas Cross ($433), with the Siltech and Cardas cables costing more than I paid for the D500 CD player.
-- Zu cables, Disco at $60 or Oxyfuel at $110, 6 recommends;
-- HomeGrownAudio, SuperSilver II at $90, 2 recommends;
-- Kimber PBJ, $84 at AudioAdvisor, 2 recommends;
-- Music And Sound (MAS) Grey at $70, 1 detailed recommend;
-- MIT Terminator 3 at $57, 1 recommend;
-- InnerSound, $49 suggested retail, 1 recommend.
Collectively, you've given me several new choices to consider in or near the price range I envisioned, which is very helpful. Beyond these, there were also several recommendations for excellent quality cables which, when checked via online vendors, turned out to be priced too high for the components I would be using them with. These included Nordost Blue Heaven ($180), HomeGrownAudio Silver Lace ($190), Siltech ST-113 G3 ($350), and Cardas Cross ($433), with the Siltech and Cardas cables costing more than I paid for the D500 CD player.