could somebody help me out on the benefits of expensive phono and speaker cables?

drdeth,
You are free to believe whatever you want to believe. The world is your oyster.

numba nine, numba nine, numba nine, num...


seriously, I support Elizabeth’s assertion on this one, that seems about right, though I will say I’ve had very good results with Blue Jeans’ Belden sourced cables and they are a high value bargain. Just an option for not much $$.

Also, consider that the most often-used cabling in professional recording studios, everywhere, is Belden. So, it would seem that the same cable would be just as appropriate for playback as well, right?

10% is not reasonable. I’m my system, that gives me 17k to play with. Not happening. 18-20% was my sweet spot. And yes, cables make a massive difference. The problem is, people ask others for advice and are ignorant to your system so their advice is crap. Take the time and study, demo what you think you might want. Talk to the owners of the companies. Most are very willing! I know Tom Vu from Triangle Art, Joe from JPS Labs we’re an absolute pleasure to deal with. They sent me the cables to try for a month to see how they sounded. I stayed with Triangle Art with interconnects and power & JPS Labs for my speaker cables. I ended up also purchasing Toms phono stage & Reference tube amps as I already had his reference se turntable. Don’t be fooled by some of these guys on this site bashing cables. The difference is huge! 

10% is not reasonable. I’m my system, that gives me 17k to play with. Not happening. 18-20% was my sweet spot.

^^^^ This is why it’s good to bring some alternative viewpoints for balance, when newbies come to an audiophile forum to ask about cables. Lest they simply accept that they have to spend a lot of money on cables to get good sound.

My speaker cables cost about $70 for the pair, and only that much because I had a long run to buy. That’s something like .8 percent only of what my previous speakers cost me, let alone my whole system!
I get great sound. I like it better than the sound my pal gets with many thousands of dollars worth of boutique cables.

So, another viewpoint to consider for the OP.


*bro fist to stevecham*


(I use Belden. If it’s good enough for pros to use in creating many excellent recordings, it’s good enough to pass those signals to my speakers).

Room acoustics matter a whole lot more.