whats the very best sounding cables for realistic money

Analysis Plus.  Their "bottom of the line" interconnects and speaker cables are great.  The mid-priced ones are excellent!  I've never felt the need to even try their "top-of-the-line."  

It's amazing how all the cable dealers jump you over for your wallet.
Power cord: Save the money, use a kettle power cord sales for 1-3gbp.
Interconnects: Go XLR if you have the interface on your gear. DIY is fine, a nice Audio Technica Mic cable and Nutrik connectors will be the best.
Speaker cables: it doesn't go by the pound, but by the Amp;s DF and length.
Tell me the data and I'll calculate it for you.
Than go DIY for a cable with banana plugs and save the the money.
Your biggest problem is how to spend good gbp left over from the vultures trying to rip you off.

Just pointing out this is a 3 1/2 year old thread. No doubt the OP has made his decision.

At the price point that the OP is inquiring about, IMO the Black Cat Coppertone's are probably impossible to beat. 

Agree with f1 fractals: I got f1 fractal XLR ICs today and right out of box, they are wonderful. They do good in everything. I am now trying multiple cables in my system to get best, and so far this has been in the top, and more importantly the least expensive of all that I have tried. 

Morrow Audio, Signal Cable, or Take Five Audio. 

Townshend Fractal f1 arrived yesterday and I was shocked by its performance, did not expect such a great improvment in all areas. Furutech Evolution II is garbage compare to this ultra higend cables for such a little money. Highly recommended!

I had some PWB Electronics speaker cables along with TG Audio speaker cables for my bi wired Fultons. The PWB cables are very good and quite exotic but affordable. Dunno if they still sell cables but they might.

Townshend cables

Go studio way and get the Gotham 2 x 6mm speaker cables. After trying many cables this is the quietest, cleanest and most unvoiced speaker cable I could find. It does not have its own sound that I could detect.
http://gothamcables.com/en/gothamcables/speakercables/50260frnc2x6mm

I like Purist for realistic money they sound great as well

It looks like the OP is from Great Britain. The voltage there is 250 I believe, and has different wall outlets. So many of the smaller American companies would not have power cables suitable for this chap, but various RCA and digital cables would be fine, and of course the bigger manufacturers market appropriate power cables in Europe.

The first RCA cable design that blew me away was one employing solid wire conductors instead of the more common stranded wire. Small solid core conductors that are individually insulated prevent the signal from jumping from strand to copper strand, and the result is quite striking. Audioquest, Wireworld and Morrow Audio all employ this basic concept, albeit with different approaches.

For lower cost, Morrow is my favourite. Each solid copper conductor is silver plated, and then insulated. Their entry level RCA IC is the MA1, and it has 2 conductors. The higher you go up the line, the more conductors are employed. The M3 has 12 runs, and for me is the point that depth to sound stage is noticed. The MA 1 has no depth, just a 2D stage, but still images well.

The pricing has various discounts available, and is sold directly from their website. One needs to have the solid core insulated conductor design as a complete loom, or else the signal gets compromised, although the power cables don’t seem to affect things, at least in my experience. I at first did not have solid core speaker cables, and the improvements with only RCA cables was not as striking.

My first speaker cable of this design was the Audioquest Type 4. One doesn’t notice the compromised sound and think something’s missing. But replace the cables and the difference is not subtle. But don’t try this with 30 or 40 year old vintage equipment, or the typical AVR either.

I'm late in responding, but I have built @williewonka 's designs that he posted and they are amazing cables for my system. I've made helix ICs, PCs and SCs. You can choose your own conductor, which is nice. Tailoring your cables to your system and desired sound is an amazing freedom to have. I love silver, so have used it throughout my cables, but you could go copper with gold or silver or rhodium.. the sky's the limit. 

To my ears, the cables I've built are very quiet, very detailed and neutral.

I love building stuff, but if you've never built cables before, these aren't too difficult to make.

for AC power bottle head cord or better a Topaz isolator

for DC power to a USB DAC, use an isolator/regen device and a LPS for best results (which may be zero depending on your DAC etc.) - wind up a DC cord using a star-quad layout or buy from Ghent

for speakers, use short runs with mono-blocks and try various cheap cables until you like the effects of complex impedance changes

for ICs, use balanced

all the above are inexpensive and effective - shills, fan-boys and fraudsters will try to sell you ineffective things for thousands

Check out 'Blue Jeans' cables. At about 30.00 they are very cheap. These replace MIT 770s, Audioquest Lapis, Monster and more. They are very well balanced and dynamic and transparent!!

Yes there is directionality depending on the design, my cables are directional because of the elements within the cable to stabilize the magnetic wave form. More basic designs like generic cables are not directional unless there is a dedicated shield that would be attached to ground on one side.

So, as a designer of cables for many decades where do you stand on the dodgy subject of is there or is there not such a thing as directionality? If you don't wish to answer I'll understand.

As a cable designer for 2 decades I can declare all cable designers want the same thing to design a cable that leaves no signature of it's own without distortion. The end result is to render a true musical presentation, in tone, realism, openness, and satisfaction. It's an amazingly difficult goal. In the end we all want to hear the recording as if we are there experiencing it first hand.  

Hi, question.

I have the Clear Day Double Shotgun cables with jumpers.

I would like to know how they compare with the Audioquest CV8 which were are also very good reviewed:

https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-LYSB00866JUHY-ELECTRNCS-Audioquest-CV-8-Spades/dp/B00866JUHY/ref=s...

I am looking for 3d deep soundstage and pinpoint imaging. I am getting that with the Clearday's, but would the above cable even improve on that more?

My speaker cables are 14awg Alpha silver plated copper. I have an old pair of DH labs T14 and they are the same, as terms of sound. I buy it from Mouser Element14 (Newark in the US) or Digikey. Though it depends how many speakers you have, as there would more cheaper wire out there if only getting a small run.

DIY interconnects, i like the switchcraft rca plugs, cheap and good, and Ok industries silver plated copper kynar wire - makes a beauitful detailed cable for the money. Again sourced from Mouser etc.

There is a few diy places nowaways apart from Mouser, who have more range, such as Duelund , Mundorf, Neotech ( I use there 24awg silver) and Eichmann rcas etc.

For the money, my favourite is the switchcraft and ok industries silver plated wire

Definitely Duelund DCA16AG as speaker cables. 

hi

I have found JPS LABS Aluminata combined with JPS LABS Kaptovators are still very high end power cables, the designs are quite old but purchased at second hand prices have represented very good sound and value. I decided to go with Townshend f1 fractal reference signal cables they created a completely open 3D holographic sound, i fill they are the most transparent signal cables in the world (my opinion) after DCT some other kind of magic is performed to create this special kind of copper, the designer Max Townshend is this time keeping this new process to himself,
all i can say is try them especially in a well balanced system where no added discolorations are needed just the true signal from your components the cables were 40 years in the making you should hear them yourselves, Imperial hifi have demo cables thank you 

ok i have finally settled on jps labs aluminata feeding my MS HD E01 BLOCK, then i have jps labs kaptovators feeding all my equipment, no outlay as i have had these power cables some years and find they are at the very high end of performance. For signal cables i use Townshend Audio fractal f1 reference 2x 1m rca with the matching fractal f1 reference isolda speaker cables very new products, the outlay was around 6k but the results are absolutely stunning. In the UK Townshend Audio are major players i use there Seismic Podiums under my Sound labs i must say my system is sounding jaw dropping very open , musical and realistic, please check out Townshend Audio they have been around some 5 decades and there products are sold on audiogon by a very reputable UK dealer with discounts thank you for all your opinions.

I'd suggest mid-level AudioQuest cables like the Rocket series, or if you are willing to spend a little more, the Castlerocks are a great option as well...

I don’t think Tina Weymouth’s bass playing belongs in Gbmcleod’s post relative to the other players noted, although it may be too late to remove it. Also, I'm in the camp with those who don't think your power cables make much difference, especially if you're using some sort of regulated power supply in the AC chain...all are welcome to this camp…bring a tent. 

It's Echole. Sorry.

Cables are as much hearing dependent as they are system dependent. That's, the better you can hear the more you will be in financial trouble. Great cables are expensive. Some would suggest trying at least mid-level Purist, Ecole and Stage III.

@bassdude2

"I've also made my own anti-cables speaker cables
, using magnet wire purchased on Amazon - very economical, and sound about the same."

Sounds like a Blue Peter experiment....congrats, enjoy....

+3 on the Duelund.  High on musical involvement, low on price.

Cerious is fine price/quality - River Cable Flexigy8 is to me the best value around for an amazing speaker cable - Coincident Statement Power Cord for power - Best signal and best speakers cables I ever heard out of dozens I tried, including much more expensive ones, is TelluriumQ SD. 

Yes - concur with Anti-Cables as great cables for the price.  

Though, I've also made my own anti-cables speaker cables 
, using magnet wire purchased on Amazon - very economical, and sound about the same.

That’s pretty weird since they are award winning cables. You don’t get those awards if the cables don’t sound great. Usually, anyway. Looks like you're the exception that proves the rule.

@geoffkait

"..how could they be too bright? They’re just solid copper."

I don't know, and have little interest in the theory.  They sounded a bit like fingernails on a blackboard on some tracks. Really unplayable.  On simple acoustic tracks, especially instrumentals, much more bearable.  Overall,  it wasn't a difficult choice to let them go.

Thanks for not bad mouthing the good people at Anti Cables. But seriously, how could they be too bright? They’re just solid copper.

I don't want to bad-mouth the good people at Anti-Cables.  They were friendly and helpful.  Some people have reported wonderful results so I bought their Ref 3 SC's with high expectations. I gave them at least 6 weeks (Paul kindly extended the trial period) but the truth is,  they sounded painfully harsh in my system.  They had to go - Morrow SP4's were a huge improvement. 

Dueland!  Second vote,see "Jeff's Place"

I really think cables are system dependant. That being said, I submit Wireworld cables offer excellent value at all levels. Compared to many other cables I've had in my system, I find Wireworld to be neutral. It doesn't emphasize any part of the audio spectrum. 

WireWorld ICs

I use these....

http://image99.net/blog/files/d048bbacfce9bcad4a025be804771d9a-76.html

http://image99.net/blog/files/be8de0c383c5434907610d6b55049e69-75.html

http://image99.net/blog/files/4127b5fe2694586e383104364360373b-74.html

The IC design can also be used for Digital IC’s, but you do not need to use the silver signal conductor - copper will do nicely (after all, it works for computers so why go silver)

Everybody that has heard them are amazed at the level of performance - neutral, dynamic, controlled and spacious, with superb imaging and clarity

Want a second opinion! - ask Agon member @toddverrone

Regards...

Used older replaced models of Cardas, AudioQuest, Kimber, Synergestic Research - and get the lower mid to mid level stuff used and it's still half ok and not expensive. Power cords miss and match as you go and grab a semi ok - sort of decent one here and there or spend a fortune - start like we all did with a couple $100 Synergestic AC Master Couplers and a coupe Cardas this or AudioQuest that and use your best one on the source then pre then amp. Upgrade each one as you go selling the old one as you go so it only cost you the price difference. This will not get you great cable but it's not Cat5 or Homedepot extension cord cable either it's competent - well built - well engineered stuff that should always be worth right about what you pay for it as long as your smart about it. As you upgrade you can get all / most your money back. You might even like some of the older stuff especially if you haven't heard the newer - better stuff. Newbie cable Aphile 101. Then give yourself a treat for this conservative and displined approach and pick up a single set of Darwin interconnects - any version - the most expensive the better but all are good and place it right after your source. It will make your entire system a 1000 better and peel off layers you had no idea that were there but then it will also show you the impact that much improved cables can have so maybe don't do it. You will love the huge bump in performance for semi cheap money so do it but it very well might send you down the rabbit hole of chasing the bump and that gets expensive and usually starts in earnest when a cable knocks your sox off like the Darwin IC will surely do when used Amin these other modest yet competent less expensive cables but the good thing is the next bump will never be as large unless you spend a ton of doe so go for it and overall it's still a very cheap overall cable way to go. Then start getting better pc's from a $100 - $150 a pop to $300 to $350 one a time peice mail and sell your old one, your getting the picture. It's the only way to outfit your rig with semi ok cable that isn't total crap and is as cheap as humanly possible and still getting semi-useable cables. I would take a very good but older one of these brands over some value dirt cheap eBay cable any day. Good luck but there are no short cuts and this gets you a bit of the way there at a time. I mean no offense but anyone that's says cables don't matter are either totally clueless or their system sucks so it doesn't matter anyway. It's either one or the other... 

Mains, as you have realized by the dozens of posts, there is no such thing as a 'perfect cable' regardless of cost or that company would soon run out of customers and fold. Even within the top cable manufacturers, it is onward and upward even few years, so lets just remember: nothing in our system is perfect. NOTHING. Not the cable, amp, preamp, tonearm, zip cord.
That said, decide how important it is for you to hear Eric Clapton's guitar technique, Beverly Sills' coluraturas, Yma Sumac's off-into-the-wild-blue-yonder high note, or Tina Weymouth's bass (Talking Heads), Ray Brown or Bela Fleck, or Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra or Lady Gaga and find a cable that is a revelation  to most the music you own.
If you want a full tonal, musical balance: MIT, Transparent, Shunyata, Crystal,  (although I don't think Crystal cable does ANYTHING "reasonably priced"). Others will have other cables.  I go for for tonal balance (so either "thin" or "technicolor" are out), a see-through midrange with good extension at both ends; all the ambience intact; and a sense of airiness, particularly in the bass regions.
 Oh, and killer sound staging and imaging. Hence, my suggestions, which can all be bought at the pricing you provided initially.
For power cords, I'd go Shunyata - but only the Alpha HC. I had that AND the Sigma and after 10 months, sold the Sigma. Not that it wasn't fantastic, but it was overkill. I gave myself plenty of time to decide that for myself, and then kept the Alpha HC for my PS Audio line conditioner. I will have another and some upper-level Nordost as well, but this does great. Nordost's line is good, but you have to watch for a slight upper bass/lower midrange suckout in the Alpha Series. MIT is the richest without being even remotely euphonic; and Transparent is stately and majestic, perhaps just a little "stiff" at the top (unless, who knows, you have their $40K Opus cable (or whatever it costs these days). 
Perhaps the other posters can say what their musical diet is, because asking for pricing without knowing what somebody listens to is having incomplete information. Those who listen to Megadeath are not in it for the tonal balance, you best believe that. 

Geoff.....Geoff....really?  Your usual posts, though I typically disagree with them, are usually polite, well written and of some use.  This one above is just an attempt to suggest that vtvmtodvm's opinion, which you quote at length, is elementary, useless and boring. Is this really you?  

 
vtvmtodvm
I always wonder if anybody using esoteric “high end” AC power line cords has paused to consider the household wiring on the other side of their own listening room wall. That wire is ordinary AWG 12 Romex if it's for a 20 ampere circuit breaker, or (more likely) AWG 14 Romex if it’s for a 15 ampere circuit breaker. And what about that other ~ 10 miles of power line cable that extends back to the local power distribution yard? Hey, can your AC power line purity really be improved by adding that last few feet of costly “audiophile grade” power cord?

The short answer is: Who cares? All of the alternating current pulses, however fine or fuzzy, are going to be converted into a smooth stream of direct current. And it's only the purified DC, not any spurious AC, that will operate the ensuing circuitry. A modern solid state linear DC power supply utilizes full wave rectification with heavy filtering. EMI/RFI bypass traps are provided at the supply input, to shunt any high frequency noise to ground. Active components are utilized to enhance DC stability. Zener diodes clamp voltage levels and chop ripple. Precise series regulator stages are implemented where there’s justifiable merit. The consequent output is scrubbed free of extraneous AC artifacts—it’s just plain/pure/flat/steady direct current. And that can be confirmed by viewing the DC waveform on a basic 50 MHz oscilloscope.

While every audio component has it’s own unique DC power supply, every supply normally draws AC fuel from the same tank, so it’s vital to provide a fuel tank big enough to power all engines; see paper headed “Assuring Adequate AC Power”.

AC power line cords serve as pipelines that route the required AC fuel to each DC engine. There’s no benefit served by making that pipe fatter than needed. Every DC engine has a basic design task, and it can’t utilize extra fuel. For AC power line cords, the “fuel” is alternating current, and the capacity is defined by the conductor gauge. The original circuit designer assigns a gauge (AWG) appropriate for the required consumption. If you have good reason to want a longer or shorter cord, or one with an angled female connector, just let the designer’s AWG be your guide. Increase the conductor diameter only if you have to extend the length of the power cord well beyond its original design length. With respect to insulation, the commercial heavy-duty standard for prime AC power line cordage is type SJT, with molded construction. It’s quite excellent.

Be aware that you can buy top quality molded SJT power line cords, AWG 14, 16, or 18, made to any length, at http://www.stayonline.com/molded-cord-configurator.aspx. The price for such custom cord will be low when compared to a “high end” cord, but it will be functionally equivalent, and it will be of the desired length, without excess slop.

Do utilize AC surge protection; it might help in the event of a power line aberration.


>>>>I think I'll save this one for when I have trouble falling asleep.

As always, lots of words and theories but no mention of actual experience. Yawwwn.

vtvjmtodvmn: thanks for some actual engineering science for a change.  I get so tired of the repetitive "hearing perception" BS of, for example, how "natural, transparent and eye-opening my music sounded with the new $2500.00 power cord."  

That said, if I could rake in the big bucks by convincing (deceiving) "audiophiles" that the hidden magic to heavenly listening was dependent on my ElectroLux Power Cord..........

Rectangular Solid Core copper as found in used TARA LABS RSC cables - excellent and affordable.

I always wonder if anybody using esoteric “high end” AC power line cords has paused to consider the household wiring on the other side of their own listening room wall. That wire is ordinary AWG 12 Romex if it's for a 20 ampere circuit breaker, or (more likely) AWG 14 Romex if it’s for a 15 ampere circuit breaker. And what about that other ~ 10 miles of power line cable that extends back to the local power distribution yard? Hey, can your AC power line purity really be improved by adding that last few feet of costly “audiophile grade” power cord?

The short answer is: Who cares? All of the alternating current pulses, however fine or fuzzy, are going to be converted into a smooth stream of direct current. And it's only the purified DC, not any spurious AC, that will operate the ensuing circuitry. A modern solid state linear DC power supply utilizes full wave rectification with heavy filtering. EMI/RFI bypass traps are provided at the supply input, to shunt any high frequency noise to ground. Active components are utilized to enhance DC stability. Zener diodes clamp voltage levels and chop ripple. Precise series regulator stages are implemented where there’s justifiable merit. The consequent output is scrubbed free of extraneous AC artifacts—it’s just plain/pure/flat/steady direct current. And that can be confirmed by viewing the DC waveform on a basic 50 MHz oscilloscope.

While every audio component has it’s own unique DC power supply, every supply normally draws AC fuel from the same tank, so it’s vital to provide a fuel tank big enough to power all engines; see paper headed “Assuring Adequate AC Power”.

AC power line cords serve as pipelines that route the required AC fuel to each DC engine. There’s no benefit served by making that pipe fatter than needed. Every DC engine has a basic design task, and it can’t utilize extra fuel. For AC power line cords, the “fuel” is alternating current, and the capacity is defined by the conductor gauge. The original circuit designer assigns a gauge (AWG) appropriate for the required consumption. If you have good reason to want a longer or shorter cord, or one with an angled female connector, just let the designer’s AWG be your guide. Increase the conductor diameter only if you have to extend the length of the power cord well beyond its original design length. With respect to insulation, the commercial heavy-duty standard for prime AC power line cordage is type SJT, with molded construction. It’s quite excellent.

Be aware that you can buy top quality molded SJT power line cords, AWG 14, 16, or 18, made to any length, at http://www.stayonline.com/molded-cord-configurator.aspx. The price for such custom cord will be low when compared to a “high end” cord, but it will be functionally equivalent, and it will be of the desired length, without excess slop.

Do utilize AC surge protection; it might help in the event of a power line aberration.

The SLIC Eclipse C interconnect (it stands for Super Low Interference Cable) is made in Britain and costs about £500 for a 1 metre RCA interconnect. I bought one a few weeks ago, and with this cable between my SACD player and preamp the sound is better than I’ve ever heard it previously.  There is much greater clarity, so that I can hear far more layers of detail such as instrumentation, harmony and counterpoint.  Instruments have greater character and colour, and the overall balance sounds accurate and natural.  It replaced a Kimber Select 1021 interconnect.  Of course it won’t suit every system or everybody’s taste but it’s excellent in mine.  Â

Sorry, for some reason I don't understand this is going to appear with various unwatnted caharcters added to it.

hi there

is there realy a need for "special" cables?
When the amp must deliver over 200 W you can try it.
Remember:. at 5 Amp at 8 Ohm then you need just 1.5 mm2 (200W RMS)
Thats all you need.
No fancy cables are needed.

regards
Ton