Best $200 speaker cables for overall performance?

No problem Marc, go ahead and drop me a line. Just be a bit patient as i sometimes get more email than i know what to do with : ) Sean
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Marc, Your Nak receiver may have amp circuitry borrowed from the Nelson Pass "stasis" design originally for classic Threshold amp. If so, there is a lot of quality ready to be unveiled by your speaker cables.
My own experience switching from Alpha-Core "Big Boy" MI-3 "Divinity" (I'm not making up their terminology!) to Reality is of a better "realism" due to more vocal and instrumental detail, and better three dimensional soundstage placement cues. My transmission line bass (down to 28Hz) has better texture and pitch definition.
Perhaps, the twenty day money back home trial offered by Gregg of Reality will tilt you toward trying it.
Alpha-Core is outstanding, yet the comparison favored Reality in my particular listening situation.

I have signal cable speaker cables that I bought a few years back. I love the craftsmanship and the sound. There was quite a buzz around here a few years ago about them.

Awesome product at a great price in my opinion.

signalcable.com

Tough to beat the MI2 sound for anywhere near the money. Do be aware that the MI2s can be a PITA to run and dress cleanly - could be a WAF thing if they are in plain view...

As a point of reference, I have always recommended the use of MI-2 Veracity's over the MI-3 Divinity's. The MI-3's are too low in nominal impedance for most systems, causing excess current to flow. Since most amps aren't up to the task, the end result is that they tend to "muddy" the sound a bit, losing clarity, focus and definition as compared to the MI-2 Veracity's.

All of this is due to the slightly higher nominal impedance of the MI-2's ( as compared to the MI-3's ), which adds a slight "buffer" to the what the amp sees. As we all know, the difference between just a few ohms ( at amplifier load / speaker level ) can make for a BIG difference in both performance and stability.

For that matter, the MI-2's may even be too low in nominal impedance for some really "anemic" amplifiers. If such is the case, then the next step would be the Goertz MI-1's. This is a 13 gauge cable, which is heavy enough for most short runs. By "short", i'm talking about 6' - 8' or so.

As with all of the Goertz cabling, i ALWAYS recommend using their impedance compensation networks, regardless of whether you or Goertz think you need them. Obviously, one must pick and use what they think works best in their system. After all, you're the only one that HAS to listen to it on a regular basis. Sean
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