cables vs wire?

I think it is important to distinguish between different and better. Depending on your level of equipment, any money you spend can go towards things like amplifiers, preamps, etc., where I believe you can achieve more objectively real sonic improvements for the dollar. At some level it then comes down to personal preference and small differences that may be improvements.

You really need to figure out your goal for the hobby. There will always be something better out there. I have lost the itch to improve now that my system is at a level where I am never unhappy with its sound. I have heard better systems, but I wasn't unhappy when I returned to my own. I generally buy now out of curiosity rather than a goal to improve.

What is the length of speaker cables that you need?
Since your speakers have bi-wire terminals, are you considering bi-wiring them or a single run of speaker cables with jumpers?
Are you using the factory jumpers or something else?
Also, is there anything about the sound of your system you would like to change slightly, e.g., bass too loose, not enough bass, too bright, etc?
There are several options you can consider that are not expensive and should sound quite good.

A third vote for Blue Jeans Cable. Great cables, prices and service. No voodoo. My entry- and exit-level cables, and everything in between.

Brian, I was in the same boat as you when I began to suspect that speaker cables might not be all the same. I didn't want to spend a lot, and let's face it, the prices can be plain crazy. A regular on another forum I frequent suggested a different type of cable. One made from solid core wire, not strands of copper. Audioquest Type 4 would give me a good noticeable improvement over the Oxygen Free Copper fine strand 12 gauge I had.

I wasn't sure, but thought that for 5 bucks a foot(buying in bulk on the cheap) it would cost me about $120 for 2 12 ft lengths, and I could handle that. Well to make a long story short, I was quite impressed at the improvement. I didn't know that I was missing anything, but the new cables gave improvements.

The music sounded more focused or accurate. Again, I didn't know what to listen for or what I was missing. But the stranded cable definitely was inferior. A problem with this forum is you can dozens of responses, each different and it's hard to winnow it down to a course of action. The help I got was on another forum, and I only suggest it because it really made a difference.

Trust your own ears. Let things settle in. Give it time.
There will NEVER be consensus on this subject.

I've always stayed within my budget and found some great cabling without the hyperbole. Darwin Silver ICs and Tempo Electric SCs (with bare ends) give me everything without sacrificing anything.

Use what sounds best in the context of your system and your system only.
I can't stress that fact enough.

All the best,
Nonoise