Shopping for Interconnects


Now that I am building two, two speaker stereo systems in my home, I will need some more IC's.  Here are the pieces of equipment I will be using.  Unsure yet about how to pair the amps to speakers but will try both with each pair of speakers to see which sounds best with which pair.

Denon PMA 520  Integrated amp circa 1989
Yamaha A 500 Integrated amp circa 1984
Yamaha S300 CD player.  Two years old.
Onkyo TA-RW311 Cassette Deck.  circa 1997
Carver TX 11a Tuner.  circa 1986

Budge for a pair of IC's is under $100 for each pair.  Will likely buy two.

Currently have Audio Art IC3's which are nice.  Going to still use them.  Also have a pair of Blue Jeans Cable LC-! which I plan to keep.  

Any suggestions?  Not exactly sure how to shop for cables of this nature since each manufacturer seems to claim different sonic characteristics for each cable.  


will62
Quick addendum to my above post.
If you don't have the soldering equipment or skills then take your components to an electronics repair shop and have the technician do the work for you.
perizi.  What does the Nickel do to the sound quality?  I've never heard of anyone using Nickel plated RCA connectors before.

Found someone that can do the soldering.  Same guy that is looking at my Denon amp.  Will look into the wire you suggested as well.  My guess is that I will have around half a dozen different IC's and eventually I am certain that with some recordings I will prefer one set of cable or two over the others.  Makes sense to have a variety considering I have a large collection of music.
Shubert
Thanks for your service as a teacher. A very undervalued service that is provided.
I watch my budget to yet feel my purchases for audio equipment are important. One reason I, like you, like the Audio Art stuff,  is it is very good and very well with in budget. Listening to audio stuff for about for over 4 decades tells me you can get 100% there with some good stuff and good synergy. Many times more costly just sounds different. I think Audio Art cables I have get me 100% there.

perazzi      Spellcheck keeps changing your name.  Just caught it again.  Let me know if that is the right cable and also about the Nickel Connectors.
marqmike.  Yes, they are good cables.  It is quite easy to assemble a good two channel stereo system now without having to spend thousands of dollars on each component.  Even just a few hundred for each pice coupled with some modestly priced cables like the IC3's will offer great sound that would satisfy most people.  I just can't justify spending thousands on a new system when much of my old gear still sounds good to this day.  Unless a component completely craps out there is no reason to replace it.

Have you compared the IC3se to the IC3?  Wondering how much of a difference there is in the sound.
I have, they are at least 50% better .Again , the Shadow connections are the best , WELL worth the extra bucks IF you listen to acoustic music .
Yes that is the correct Belden Cable on your above link.  My reference regarding Nickel vs Gold Neutrik male RCA's is for example.  My mono block amplifiers have Nickel Female RCA's and my Preamplifier has Gold Female RCA's.  So when I custom made my interconnects I had Nickel RCA's for the amplifier end and Gold RCA's for the Preamplifier end.  Just check to see what your components have.  If you are fortunate they will be the same metal and you will be able to use one kind.  Just make sure before you order. 
Schubert.  Cost of those SE's is over 300 bucks.  3 times the cost of the original edition.  Can't afford to spend that kind of money for cables.  
Know I’m a little late to this, but ZU Audio is auctioning off their Mission series IC’s and power cables on eBay right now, and there’s potential to pick them up for around $50. Been going on for a while now, so I don’t know how many they may have left. If someone has already offered this up, my apologies, I didn’t read through the thread...Cheers and Happy New Year
Although I was able to pick up 2 sets of Dueland IC  with dueland connectors from members of AC for a very good price , they are certainly amazing in a high end system ! their is a person on Ebay that sells them for $ 99.00 a pair.
I also own 6 sets of Zu audio Mission & wylde IC silver coated with copper about $ 40 to $ 50 a pair from ZU on E-Bay , they are discontinued models but sound amazing ! you just can't go wrong with these cables
Thanks.  Will be trying a few different DIY IC's now that I've read enough information about them.  Could easily be much better than anything I could buy for a comparable price.

Also going to look into DIY speaker cables next.  Just read a thread about the Duelund cable yet again being a great speaker cable as well.