Snipes,
If you decide not to go DIY consider Nordost. Their cables seem to work well in a wide range of systems. They are fast, transparent and will not exaggerate warmth in any system. (OTOH, I've heard some Audioquest models called "dark" or "warm", so be careful with them.)
Used Nordost Blue Heaven in a 3m length (118") would sell at slightly above your price point. Nordost Solar Wind, the next model down, should sell for rather less.
Shielding around speaker cable is generally a terrible idea, as Sean said. Any conductive material near an electrical signal will interact with (and so degrade) the signal. Nordost cables have about the lowest inductance and capacitance around, so shielding is rarely necessary. We've never picked up any noise with our Nordost cables and interconnects.
Hope this helps, enjoy the music whatever you do!
If you decide not to go DIY consider Nordost. Their cables seem to work well in a wide range of systems. They are fast, transparent and will not exaggerate warmth in any system. (OTOH, I've heard some Audioquest models called "dark" or "warm", so be careful with them.)
Used Nordost Blue Heaven in a 3m length (118") would sell at slightly above your price point. Nordost Solar Wind, the next model down, should sell for rather less.
Shielding around speaker cable is generally a terrible idea, as Sean said. Any conductive material near an electrical signal will interact with (and so degrade) the signal. Nordost cables have about the lowest inductance and capacitance around, so shielding is rarely necessary. We've never picked up any noise with our Nordost cables and interconnects.
Hope this helps, enjoy the music whatever you do!