One line of cables not often spoken of on these forums but worthy of serious consideration is Purist Audio Design. They are not glamorous looking and come in a canvas bag. You can audition them through The Cable Co. $15k might not be enough depending how far up their line you are willing to go. Based on my experience I recommend this: Start with Power Cords. They have the most impact and then speaker cables. Interconnects (balanced) can fill in that last little bit of gain in sound. I'm at the middle grade of Purist Audio Design cables. I find them detailed and open but very clean with no sibilance or irritating harshness in the highs. I heard a big change switching from their lower grade to mid grade power cords. Their digital power cord was like an upgrade to my DAC. Just know that once you hear them- there is no going back.
Choosing new cables
I am looking to upgrade my current cables. This should be my last system as I retired a few years ago and most of my components have been seriously updated in the last couple of years. I have been in this audio hobby for about 50 years and have always have great sounding musical systems.
My current cables all work and sound great but are 15 - 20 years old. So updating is what I need. I am budgeting around $10k - $15k for all new cables.
I have always felt the i/c's were the most important cable followed by the speaker cables and the power cords. However I am now leaning towards spending more on the power cords followed by the speaker cables and last the i/c.
I know all cables are very important but how would you prioritize the cables? Any suggestions on any brands would also be appreciated!