Speaker cables or interconnects??

Mapleshade has not come up on my radar. Thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks for all the responses. I've read as much as I can stand about technology and reviews and the Acoustic Zen Satori right now is #1 on the list. Even their technology page makes sense to me. Some people say there is very little difference in speaker cable, but I put the DH Labs in and listened for less than a minute and disconnected them. From that moment, I discounted anything with silver content. I just have to take a deep breath and let loose for the Zen. Never spent that much on cable before.

I pulled the trigger on the Acoustic Zen Satori. I'll post some comments after I get them later in the week.
Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

The AZ Satori's are hooked up and I'm breaking them in, but first impressions....much, much cleaner than the Monster XP. At higher volume there is no edginess, with more depth and a separation of instruments I have not heard before. Frequently when jazz trio or quartet members are playing competing riffs at the same volume, sounds often get smeared, not so with these cables.
I tried DH Labs T14's and they were just bright and thin sounding, no better definition compared to the AZ. The AZ sounds CLEAN and neutral. I've only been listening for 30 minutes or so, but they sound great and are giving me what I had hoped, accuracy with no edginess, no false sparkle. Accurate across the entire bandwidth is a great description so far.
More later.

The Az's are opening up as I am listening, it's amazing why just a little burn in is doing. Even more depth and sounds as though has added vertical dimension as well. I'm really gonna enjoy these.

Musically Inclined: how long have you had your AZ cables? Just curious.

Musicallyinclined,

I've only had the Zens for a couple of days and have been initially impressed but they are different from the Monster XP. After listening for a while there seemed to be something missing that I liked about the XP so I reinstalled the Monster XP but just for couple songs and reaffirmed they are too bright so I know I am headed in the right direction at least with upgrading the speaker cables. When I started to reconnect the Zens I noticed ARROWS on the labels and since the cables don't come with instruction manuals (why would they?) I assumed it indicated the direction of "preferred current flow". And of course I had them installed the arrows headed to the amp instead of away from the amp to the speakers. https://www.google.com/search?q=acou...R2yBXHK5IqzWM:
OK, I hope I'm not going absolutely nuts, but I turned them around and could swear there is an improvement, a little more harmonics to the upper register of the piano and more "crash and bite" to percussion. I contacted AZ dealer who told me they needed at least 150 to 200 hours of burn in so you're well within the recommendation. Check out your cables and the arrows on the label, I don't know whether it will make any difference or not.
I am sure my cables need to burn in more but in your situation, it may be that there is "just something missing" and i would go with your gut instincts because this is a very subjective hobby. I now have a system which I feel like is 90% there and getting that last 10% is a bear.
With the satisfaction guarantees of Morrow Audio and Audio Advisor, I have cables from Morrow and Audioquest on the way. It's the only way I think I can decide, try them in my own home in my system.
Thanks for your reply, it's comforting to know I am not alone and going a little crazy.
Mike