Don't let yourself be influenced by the cable companies marketing. Almost every single cable company outsources their production...they're not manufacturers...so resources aren't even an issue. Big companies also have more money to throw at reviewers in the form of free demos, trips, wining and dining, hookers, etc. :-) Most cables are way way overpriced (whether people want to admit that or not). I have Cardas cables (mostly Golden Cross...purchased used) and I think they're great, but I also think the Coincident is as good or better at 30% of the price. JPS cables are also very good, and many rave about HomeGrown audio's silver cables. I would definitely recommend checking all options. Don't let the price or the name fool you, and don't forget about the used market.
Big name company or smaller company?
I am looking to replace my cables and it seems here on Audiogon a lot of smaller cable companies like Zen and Coincident (and many more) are recommended. I currently have MIT Terminator 2 and was not sure if I should stick with auditioning the better MIT's, or Cardas', etc. If I buy from a smaller company I could be stuck and have no resale value to fall back on. Do these smaller companies offer that much more value? Don't the larger companies have more resources, etc...? I notice most of the people with "better" systems use big name cables, including reviewers. Of course I would like to get the most for my money. ???