Lol “over budget”? I bet many/most audiophiles have had this experience, for some maybe a way of life, others throw their budget out the window.
From my (messy) notes:
Interconnects Max length:200pF/m (inexpensive cable) 7ft 28-40pF/m 30-40ft
Speaker cable max length 8 meters
Better longer interconnects and shorter speaker cables
Digital interconnects- maybe 1.5m minimum to stop reflections
Cable importance order:
- Power
- Speaker
- Interconnect
run digital as far as possible, then run balanced as far as possible, then use monoblock amps set as close to the speaker as possible and do not worry about the brand of the wire
speaker cables should be short
Iconoclast order of importance:
1st speaker
2nd analog - XLR
3rd analog - RCA
4th digital