Mazerunner, you have made a superb choice in Magnepan. You have obviously used your ears to guide you to the best choice for the money. I suggest that you continue in this wise.
Especially with cables. Try before you buy. Every time. What I have always done is to buy ultra cheap, generic cables for a few bucks. Consider these as disposable. Hook them up and get used to the sound.
Then challenge a vendor, and yourself, to get a better sound. You may find that you get more bang for the buck anywhere but with cables. I draw your attention to the Maxwell Equations which govern electromagnetic physics. A consequence of these equations is that low inductance / high capacitance is desirable in speaker wire, and high inductance / low capacitance cable is desirable for interconnect.
As a practical matter, that means two speaker wires placed as close together as possible, and the two conductors of interconnect as far apart as possible (but there are limits: it depends on how intense the radio frequency field is in your area). You can do pretty well yourself as a DIY project. If you want to try this, start with a good quality microphone cable (with woven shield), for a buck or two per foot, and non-magnetic phono plugs (that is, buy a small rare earth magnet at a dollar store and take it with you to buy phono plugs, and if they attract, don’t buy them).
If you don’t solder, there are lots of people who are not opposed to making a few bucks on the side.
Yeah, I know, some people say it’s a good idea to spend big bucks on cabling, and maybe it works for them. But I have a high end system, mostly DIY, and I last bought ready made cables 20 years ago - and don’t use them now. My mileage has differed. So may yours.
Just a cranky old goat’s opinions, nothing more. YMMD.
Good luck !! You’ve made a very auspicious beginning.
Especially with cables. Try before you buy. Every time. What I have always done is to buy ultra cheap, generic cables for a few bucks. Consider these as disposable. Hook them up and get used to the sound.
Then challenge a vendor, and yourself, to get a better sound. You may find that you get more bang for the buck anywhere but with cables. I draw your attention to the Maxwell Equations which govern electromagnetic physics. A consequence of these equations is that low inductance / high capacitance is desirable in speaker wire, and high inductance / low capacitance cable is desirable for interconnect.
As a practical matter, that means two speaker wires placed as close together as possible, and the two conductors of interconnect as far apart as possible (but there are limits: it depends on how intense the radio frequency field is in your area). You can do pretty well yourself as a DIY project. If you want to try this, start with a good quality microphone cable (with woven shield), for a buck or two per foot, and non-magnetic phono plugs (that is, buy a small rare earth magnet at a dollar store and take it with you to buy phono plugs, and if they attract, don’t buy them).
If you don’t solder, there are lots of people who are not opposed to making a few bucks on the side.
Yeah, I know, some people say it’s a good idea to spend big bucks on cabling, and maybe it works for them. But I have a high end system, mostly DIY, and I last bought ready made cables 20 years ago - and don’t use them now. My mileage has differed. So may yours.
Just a cranky old goat’s opinions, nothing more. YMMD.
Good luck !! You’ve made a very auspicious beginning.