Cable Costs Relative to System

I feel that speaker cables and interconnects should actually add “nothing” to the musical output; they should be as transparent as possible. Of course there exists a huge difference between quality cables and common 18 gauge wire, but I really do not think that the return-on-investment is great enough to warrant huge expense after a certain level is reached (technology is such that transparent cables can be produced with very moderate cost).. IMHO.

Sorry, Sdcampbell- I agree with you about the need for adjusting the listening room. Been there, done that. I'll still consider my money well spent on the expensive cables and power cords that I'm using. Is it self delusion? Well, not according to my wife and friends. Without the cables, the MUCH more expensive active components simply make sound, not music - the emotional connection to the artists and the event. That's precisely why I'm into high-end audio, not for concerns of profit margins or ratios. I've had lots of expensive equipment without high-end cables and power cords, and almost left audio because of the frustration. I've finally obtained a level of performance that thrills me everytime I sit down to listen, and I couldn't have reached this point without outstanding cables. We should all try to be informed and "buy smart" whenever possible. If you can find comparable performance at a lower cost, buy it. Otherwise, be happy that you've found a $1500 power cord that finally makes your $6000 DAC produce some semblance of music. For the record, I'm another EE that believes that cables can make a huge difference. Just my .02.

I run synergistic designer ref. on my components and iam very happy with the whole package.I have tried diff. cables over the years audioquest.kimber xlo and even lat.I think now i have found the best for me.Yes i think the cable issue is to expensive but most people think were crazy anyways(audiophiles) so what.
Try to enjoy if not sell it all and buy a BOSE

OK, if so many are convinced that very expensive cables are a rip-off, who produces cables that sound everybit as good as top-of-the-line offerings from the big boys, e.g. Nordost Quattro Fil, Cardas GC, Kimber Select, etc. IN A HIGHLY RESOLVING SYSTEM?

Unfortunately, I believe that a lot of bias is introduced because people with lower resolving (generally, lower cost)systems absolutely will not see improvements from expensive cables. They therefore conclude that Brand XXX sounds the same as the expensive cable in all systems. I would be curious to hear from those that have systems that retail for >$50k, yet have significantly <10% spent on interconnects and speaker wire and <10% spent on PCs. I don't mean to suggest that all >$50k systems are better, but I am trying to put this in the context of the most expensive cables.

Is there anybody using <$250/meter cable in a >$50k audio system. If yes, please let us in on the magic.

Finally, if the big boys have such huge profit margins (and they do) why doesn't our free market handle this by us favoring high-value cable manufacturers? Are we all just sheep following advertising dollars? In the pre-internet days, we could blame the audio rags, but now we have forums like these to disseminate reviews and therefore can only blame ourselves if we are being "ripped-off".

One more point. We must also consider that although materials cost and manufacturing are a very small percentage of expensive cable costs, it may take an awful lot of Non-recurring Engininering (R&D) to get to the design of that cable. I doubt that Nordost Valhalla costs 20X more to produce than Nordost Solar Wind (Hell, they look the same!), but it does sound a ton better and it probably required more R&D to get it that way.