Quality Budget RCA Interconnects

Pony up just a few more dollars and get the Audioquest Blue Racer II exclusively from Audio Advisor. These are terminated with $40 silver RCAs and the conductors are AQ's PSC (perfect surface copper), which is AQ marketspeak for single crystal copper. I have listened to A LOT of cables through the years, and I've come to the conclusion that single crystal copper (such as Ohno Continuous Cast -- OCC) has the most consistently noticeable improvement on the sound. You won't find single crystal copper with this quality of terminations anywhere else this affordable, nor will you get as much improvement via your interconnects as these, except possibly Kimber Tonik.

Don't confuse single crystal copper with long grain copper (LGC). LGC crystals are about 1/8" long, so there are hundreds of crystal boundaries in an LGC interconnect. PSC/OCC interconnects have no boundaries because a single copper crystal spans the entire length of the interconnect.

Best cheap interconnects I've tried are the Blue Jeans Cables and Signal cables - very good value IMHO.

The ultimate from the budget IC universe may come from Auricle Audio Design: hand crafted with a proprietary RCA jack design from Audiogon member Joemazzaglia.
I don't know if the latest 2009 price is still close enough to your budget, but these have been inserted by me in some mighty fine systems with surprisingly impressive results.
Not long ago there was an Audiogon ad for his newer even lower cost entry level model which I have not had the pleasure of auditioning, but if it is anything like the original then your $40 price could get you a very cost effective solution.
Regardless of how a manufacturer prices his/her product, the great wires reveal more of what your system is capable of delivering, starting many an audiophile along that lifelong upgrade path.

AR cables are quite good for the money, and AQ cables for sale at HCM audio are a bargain.

Check out these guys, especially their "expensive" cables (eKs):

http://www.knukonceptz.com/productMaster.cfm?Category=RCA%20Interconnects

-RW-

I've used the G-snake. Its a very solid option.

Older MIT terminator 2 or 4 used are other very good options to try overall.

DNM Reson is another I like with a different, somewhat warmer and more "British" sound, much like B&Ws, that can work nicely in systems that can use that.

Acoustic Research

http://www.hififorless.com/showProduct.php?productid=54547

If you can handle a soldering iron, consider the DH Labs Silver Sonic BL-1.
At $4/ft plus appx $8/connector, they will be slightly over your budget BUT they will be keepers for the long term.
Cnheck the Audio Concepts website for the raw materials. You may be able to do better for the connectors but the RCA's that they sell are goood quality.
www.audioc.com/accessories1/dhlabs/bl1.htm

Thanks folks for your answers so far. Any thoughts on Audioquest cables? The Sidewiner or G Snake?

Looks like a nice recommendation, Tvad, in the lengths that they offer (0.5, 1, and 2 meters).

But their capacitance is quite high at 108 pf/foot, so depending on the output impedance of the source component (which doesn't appear to be specified for the Music Hall CD25.2) I'd be hesitant to use this wire for longer runs (or as I'm sure you realize an upper treble roll-off might result).

Regards,
-- Al

I've found that the Pearstone Gold Series interconnects are well-constructed, inexpensive, no-nonsense cables that do the job (but ignore the cheaper ones that have nickel-plated connectors):

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=search&A=search&Q=&sb=bs%2Cupper(ds)&sq=asc&sortDrop=Brand%3A+A+to+Z&ac=&bsi=&bhs=t&shs=&ci=4165&at=Cable_2+RCA+to+2+RCA&at=Brand_Pearstone&basicSubmit=Submit+Query

Regards,
-- Al