entry level cables and Audioholics

Trelja and Jax2 have good advice. Invest your money in the other parts of your system. Amplification is a good place to start for what you have.

I recently was able to achieve a dramatic improvement in my receiver-based system, not with speaker cables, but with the IC from DVD player to receiver. (I am using the receiver as pre-pro, and listening to CDs using the multi-channel input on the receiver) The IC involved was a set of Canare wire ones I got thrown in on the deal when I bought my DVD player.

Not being satisfied with my audio on CDs(lack of focus and coherence to music), I was looking through one of my boxes of stuff, and saw an old set of Tara Labs RSC ICs I had gotten years ago.

So, on a hunch, I connected the Tara between the DVD player L/R multi-channel outputs and the receiver multi-channel inputs.

Whoa! It was an amazing difference in the clarity, and coherence of the music. Much more enjoyable to listen to.

I am now looking to upgrade my 5 ICs from the receiver to the power amp.

Look into QED, they are a British company that sell reasonably priced cables that improved the sound of my system. Qunex 1, 2, 3 or the Silver Spirals. I think the Qunex 2 are pretty good (I have them on my Denon 2200 multi, I also own the Silver Spirals, they are on my VPI Scout), all of these cables have won lots of awards. QED also makes bulk speaker cable so you can solder your own interconnects. As for other components Musical Fidelity Integrated, and Polk LSi15's I would not spend more on cable, my next upgrade is the Vandersteen 2cE's and the Graham Slee Mark V phono.
Good Luck.

>> It seems for $30-60 per cable I can get respectable quality. <<

Hey, for $4.95 you can get *very* good quality - check out the Music Boy/Petra cables at this link:

http://www.starlink-dss.com/Audio-Cables.htm

I re-wired my entire system (removing all the Monster Cables) for less than $80 and it sounds great.

-RW-

I know reference level interconnects that cost $99. Really. They compete with anything out there. In fact, they are EXACTLY the same as a highly regarded cable that sells for $1400.

However, I see you getting bogged down in specs and measurements. The only thing that I will say is that drinking by the label, in audio as well as life, is a recipe for a lot of bad things to happen. Honestly, you will often not hear differences in cabling until other things are right.

I myself have put together what I considered high level systems which I could not discern meaningful cable differences in. It wasn't until I learned more did I realize that it was then time for cable. Not to be condescending or anything else, but your system is not yet there. You are much more wise to invest in amplification, then speakers, and music all along the way. But, we all need to learn on this journey, and if you are intent on trying cable now, have a ball. At the prices you are talking about, you aren't going to get hurt.