Speaker cables: $3000 or $380. What do you get??

I have owned high priced Nordost Valhallas and Siltech Gen.5 and lower priced cables from Ridge Street, Pure Note, and Morrow. There is a sonic difference depending on your system components and your hearing acuity.

Regarding Price: Most of the name brands sell through dealers with markups are around 50%. The smaller outfits are direct and can offer high quality for half the price.

Bottom Line: You must audition cables in your system to see what works for you.

While there are many low and medium cost cables that I do like, and many expensive ones that I don't, unfortunately the cables that sound best to me in my system tend to be more expensive than not. The good news is that my purchased used Transparent Super MM2 cables will hold their value very well for a number ofyears, so the cost is nowhere near as great as it seems.

Sunnyjim,

I just re-read my post from before. It sounds really mean. I didn't want it to come out that way, I was in a hurry when I typed it out.

"You don't get either one. The reason is simple; you don't know what you are doing."

Let me put that in context. I mean that literally and not anything negative. Audio is a hobby, that, like many other hobbies, takes a lot of learning and experience to be successful. When you get into more expensive cables, you really need to know what you are doing. High end cables are one of the more advanced challenges you need to deal with as an audiophile. I believe that inexperience is why so many people become very frustrated/negative when it comes to cables.

Relying on reviews and other peoples opinions, is like an accident waiting to happen. Its possible you may make a lucky guess. Aside from that, though, there really is no easy path to take. If you want to do it right, you need to learn and gather experience on your own. If you are not sure about something, its no big deal. Its better to just take your time and make a purchase only when you feel you are ready.

Jallen.. You know what you are doing. The more you spend, the less you get is right when it comes to wires. But... if one has the funds, why not experiment?

I'll expand on Zd542's post a bit more.

Experience is the key. That is, when you have heard enough gear in your home and know exactly what type of sound and presentation you like and what you hope to gain with a step up in class/price (for lack of better reference), then you're ready to consider it.

Also, as you're gaining experience don't look at at cables as a solution to a problem. See them as refinements. Consider your components first.

I have not been in this hobby since 2006, but am considering a return...dear god. That year I owned Acoustic Zen Hologram II, Audience AU24 and Ridge Street Poiema speaker cables at the same time and was constantly comparing them. At a certain point I thought, "this is frickin' ridiculous!" So I never spent above that level.

And now I want to do this again?