Reasonable high end interconnects: without breaking the bank

All of the above are worthless because no one has your gear in your room with your source material and your preferences.

The outputs, cables and inputs are a complex impedance. They interact, so without identical parameters, recommendations are worthless.

You can audition cables in $x00k systems with top flight hardware and supposedly better cables [read pricier] may make the systems next to unlistenable.

Read this http://ielogical.com/Audio/CableSnakeOil.php
PM questions.

jworth:

A recent AQ audio left me severely nonplussed. System was all McIntosh driving Bi-Wired B&W 800 D3. Generally excellent, with all AQ cables.

Switching the speaker cable to a higher priced $12k vs $6k destroyed the balance. Vocals became boxy.

Restoring the speaker cable and replacing the DAC/pre cable with one @ 2x $ made the system unlistenable. The top end became aggressive and phase coherence destroyed. Silky cymbals became clangy with edgy harmonics. Grand piano sounded like 3 separate instruments.

A perfect demo that price means nothing and cables must mate to the system.

@cleeds 
There is value in better cables that are well mated to a system.

McManus gave no inkling as to manner of improvement, but just that he had scored savings purchasing used. Did he audition anything or just grab a deal? What specific problem was he trying to solve? You and I may disagree completely with his choices.

There is very close to ZERO relationship between cost and performance.

Cables must match the system, room and user preferences - assuming the user is has some credibility and skill.

Someone finally got me to try better cables and my sound quality jumped. It jumped again when I spent $500 on used $1,200 cables and jumped again at $900 for used $2,200 cables

Actually, "Someone finally got me to try different cables and my sound quality changed. It changed again when I spent $500 on used $1,200 cables and changed again at $900 for used $2,200 cables."

The perception as an improvement is confirmation bias.

@mcmanus 

they just hear something that you do not

You have it backwards.

Having been a Grammy nominated professional recording engineer, consultant to Monster Cable, Ibanez, principal engineer for several electronic firms, Chief of Analogue Design for AMS-Neve, I, and those who hired me, think my hearing is just fine. Sadly, not what it once was.

Over 5 decades, I have evaluated cables and if they differ electrically, they probably differ sonically. Whether they are a +/- depends on the gear they interface.

Unless one sits in the recording studio, swapping out cables, mics, preamps, compressors and EQ to get what's in the booth on tape and/or records live acoustic music and/or regularly attends live acoustic performances, then one has no frame of reference, just an opinion based on preference.

I recently auditioned some $12k vs $6k interconnect cables [same manuf] in a well setup dealer BW 800 D3 system. All McIntosh electronics. A really superb system. Swapping the $6k cable for the $12k totally destroyed the excellent presentation. Vocals became boxy, the image split, the hi-hat sand-papery and the harmonics would rip your ears off.

Some may prefer the $12k, but they didn't record it and thus haven't a clue of how it should sound. I did and it sucked!

What I would take from the demo is that performance is inversely proportional to $.

Cables are an interface between two devices and dynamically interact with those devices and cannot be evaluated other than in situ. Ultimately their effects are transduced by the loudspeaker. If cable colorations compliment the speaker flaws, great. If they don't, no amount of DoReMi will change that.

As point of reference, my speaker cables cost about 8x my speakers. I bought them because they are well designed and based on solid engineering principles. They got me closer than anything else I tried.

@millercarbon
My speaker cables could have cost 1/8th my speakers. My point was that I am not averse to expensive product per se, if it is better.

Other than owning a HiFi, what are most posters creds? Take a scan through some of the virtual systems here. https://systems.audiogon.com/
No doubt, some are stunning, but then so is a taser. Some are so badly set up and in appallingly bad environments as to be hopeless. Anyone with an uncovered TV or equipment stack between their HiFi mains please 'fess up. And go away.

I ignored the topic "List your System Ingredients: Listed most to least expensive, by list price or price paid" because cost is irrelevant. It is possible to purchase the very best [read most expensive] into an unlistenable system.

The effect was first demonstrated to me in a control room decades ago. When mixing, packing blanket were hung in front of the glass.

Large screen TVs are reflectors and resonators, albeit becoming less so with ever more integrated electronics and increased power efficiency.

For those with undamped large flat rigid surfaces between the mains, enlist the help of a couple of pals to lift a packing blanket while listening blindfolded in a darkened room. If you can hear the difference, there is work to do.