Optimal cable selection really requires comparisons of various brands in your own system. There is no other way to make an optimal selection. I don't think the information a manufacturer or dealer can provide to you will reveal how the speaker cable will work in your system. Of course, you can buy a reputable speaker cable without ever having heard it, and it might be adequate, but you will never know if it is optimal or merely adequate.
Assuming you want to make comparisons, then there are two approaches you can take. You can "borrow" cables from manufacturers who offer money-back guarantees or in some cases from dealers. The benefit of this approach is that it involves the least hassle. If you don't like how a speaker cable sounds, you just return it and get your money back. The downside is that you will end up paying full retail or close to it for a speaker cable, unless it happens to be available on the used market.
Alternatively, you can buy used, try the cable in your system, and then resell it if it doesn't float your boat. The obvious benefit is that you get a discount in the used market. The downside is that it can be a real hassle to resell cables and there is some risk that you won't succeed in reselling them without accepting a substantially lower price than you paid.
I personally don't like this approach, particularly because speaker cables are more difficult to sell on the used market than interconnects and power cords. I almost always have bought cables new from dealers or directly from manufacturers after having heard them in my system.
Assuming you want to make comparisons, then there are two approaches you can take. You can "borrow" cables from manufacturers who offer money-back guarantees or in some cases from dealers. The benefit of this approach is that it involves the least hassle. If you don't like how a speaker cable sounds, you just return it and get your money back. The downside is that you will end up paying full retail or close to it for a speaker cable, unless it happens to be available on the used market.
Alternatively, you can buy used, try the cable in your system, and then resell it if it doesn't float your boat. The obvious benefit is that you get a discount in the used market. The downside is that it can be a real hassle to resell cables and there is some risk that you won't succeed in reselling them without accepting a substantially lower price than you paid.
I personally don't like this approach, particularly because speaker cables are more difficult to sell on the used market than interconnects and power cords. I almost always have bought cables new from dealers or directly from manufacturers after having heard them in my system.