Interconnect Cables for Pre-and Power amp

"Do this, and you will never want for another cable again!, cheers!"

That's because he'll have a heart attack and drop dead when he sees the price of those things.

This should be an easy choice for you. You've done a very good job matching your components. The Pass and the Ayre both do everything well and are very neutral sounding. Because of that, nothing needs to be fixed. You don't have to spend a lot for great sounding cables, either. My first choice would be Audioquest. You should be able to get a very good deal on a pair of Jaguar or Panther. Those are the 2 former current top copper IC's from AQ. The only difference is that Panther uses Teflon and Jaguar uses PE. I find its not that big a difference. They both sound extremely good. The 2 AQ models that replaced them, Columbia and Colorado, are almost exactly the same. Just small changes were made. I own pairs of all 4 and you really have to nit pick to hear any differences. If you can get a good deal on any one of them, you can't go wrong. Also, they are fully balanced. Not all cables are. Like components, you can use xlr connectors on cables and not have them be internally balanced. AQ uses 3 separate conductors.

Another Cable that may come up is Cardas. Ayre recommends them. They're excellent, as well. I have a pair of Golden Reference. I think thats their best one. The only caution I would mention is that they are stranded. Copper tends to have a roughness or grain in the high frequencies. Only the best solid core copper cables, that I've heard, get around that. I don't know if that will be an issue for you because my speakers may be a little more revealing than the ones you have. My best guess would be that you will probably be able to hear that flaw, as well. I use Ayre myself and know first hand that its very revealing. Pass is too.

The only other thing I can tell you is that I would stay away from anything silver. I have some silver IC's and have never had them work between an amp and preamp. I have no idea why, but I know others who share my opinion on this. Save silver for your source components.

I believe I listed a few specific models. Any one of them should bring you in well under budget. You may want to consider another resource. For cables, I use The Cable Company. They have a demo program where they lend you a bunch of cables that you want to try so you can demo them in your system. I use them all the time, as do many other people on this site.

If you just need something to get you buy and don't mind taking a small chance, find a good used pair of AQ Jaguar. You shouldn't have any problem finding them in the $100-$200 range. Its a true high end cable that sounds very good with just about anything. You can use it as a reference for judging other cables and you'll always be able to sell it for about what you paid. I have a pair of TARA The 2 that went for about $1500 and they sound just as good. Even a little better in the bass.

Like I said before, you have really good, well matched components. You don't have to play the cable game.

Why Sky? Its all silver and its almost exactly the same cable as the Cheetah, and double the price. Also, its very hard to get silver sounding right between an amp and preamp. The OP's components are very revealing. There's a very high chance that using a cable like that will deliver high frequencies that are a little bright and have a detached sound from the rest of the music. There's always the possibility that it will work OK but I wouldn't take a chance without a demo first.

I had a pair of Sky that Cable Company lent me. I have very revealing equipment but I couldn't hear the difference between the 2. Here's what you get going from 36v Cheetah to Sky (Everything else is identical): 72v dbs, slightly different xlr connectors and 50% more air.

Thats it. If its one of those things that bother you, a 36v dbs pack is available form AQ for about $100-$150. If there is an improvement going to 72v, its very slight. You don't here the type of differences in xlr connectors that you do with rca. That just leaves you with 50% more air.

I thought the 50% more air thing was kind of funny because Sky cost 2x what Cheetah is so I called AQ and they reluctantly confirmed my take on the differences were accurate. As far as pure silver goes, thats identical. Weather it sounds bright or harsh, thats subjective and very equipment dependent. I never said the Cheetah is bright or harsh. The sound is a little different. The HF's have a detached sound. They stand out a little more. I wouldn't call it harsh, bright would be closer. But that's just between the amp and preamp. Most of the time they sound OK going from a source to a preamp. Except on my vinyl setup. Cheetah is good between a TT and phono pre but not good between my phono pre and my line stage. (that combination has held true through several different equipment upgrades, not just 1 tt and 1 phono pre). I can't give you a technical reason as to why any of this is true. I just judge everything by listening to it. No only that, its all subjective anyway. I can say, though, that I've showed many people these differences over the years using my system and every single person that I did the demo for, was able to easily hear the differences I list above.

My main system consists of: Wadia 861SE, AQ Cheetah, Aesthetix Calypso, 2 pairs of AQ Columbia, 2 Ayre V5's (vertical), 2 runs of AQ CV-8, Vandersteen Model 2 Sig2 + 2 Vandersteen subs.

2nd system: Wadia 302, Tara The 2 IC, VAC 30/30 mk3, The 2 speaker cable, Wilson Cubs series 2/with matching stands.

I also have some vinyl gear and quite a few components that I don't always have in my system but I do use every once an a while. I've used AQ with everything I have and have always gotten very consistent results. If you guys like silver and get different results from me, thats fine. My opinion is no more valid than anyone elses. I'm not saying that anyone is wrong or not being truthful, either. I believe that everyone here is giving their honest opinion. Its to be expected that results will vary; espically when dealing with cables and very revealing components.