There was a kind young man on Audiogon a few years ago who was collecting and offering handsome sets of dark brown, fairly large but not obtrusive antique porcelain insulators for a reasonable price. I gladly bought two sets from him to keep my long new (to me) bi-wired flat-but-fat speaker cables off of the carpet-over-concrete slab in our living room. I have the same issue another member already mentioned: the left speaker is perhaps only three feet of cable length from our big Levinson amp, while the right speaker is probably twelve or so cable-feet away. While I will not claim the insulators vastly improved the sound, the upgraded cables made a positive difference in our enjoyment of music, and the insulators look good and functionally manage the coiled dual runs of excess cabling on the left side of the room, between our rack and the speaker. They make keeping the cables clean easier and help to keep them secured to our large full-range speakers by reducing the tug of the weighty bi-wired run. The insulators were a reasonable investment in our primary system, and I appreciated the care the seller took in selecting, matching and meticulously packing them for me. They were not expensive - perhaps $230 or so all in - and I'm glad to have them. I like to think they make a difference; however, as with all scientifically unproven tweaks, your mileage may differ, and if you consider their use to be an instance of "snake oil," I still respect your opinion.
