Bad idea?

OP,

That is the correct thing to do. Try them. If you do not feel they are worth the sound quality they provide, then you shouldn't buy them. Ultimately that is the test. 

The reason that you would spend $1k on speaker cables is the reason I spent $5K on speaker cables. Because the incremental increase in sound quality of the system is worth the expenditure. So the cables increases the sound quality more than the equivalent investment in any other component of the system. 

If you want inexpensive speaker wire that sounds surprisingly good. Get a Home Depot 10/3 (preferred) or 12/3 power cord, clip off the ends and use that. It was done in Stereophile long ago and compared with audiophile speaker wire... while it was not better... it was excellent and cost effective. I use it on my office system. 

I have tried Monster and Blue Jeans and found them not to be of very good quality. I have not compared against the HD 10/3... but I'd put my money on the HD 10/3 if I had to guess.