How much money do you want to waste?

$ spent have nothing to do with sound Quality,Period.
If the guys who wrote for the MAGS said this the Add Dollors would dry up.

So someone has to propagate this lie.
The typical mark up for a MFG is 10:1. for every dollar they spend on making a cable they need to charge ten times more.
When I put toghter a cable that cost me 75.00 to make A MFG has to selli ti for 750.00 Retail.The Distributor get 50% off list and that leaves 375.00 for the MFG to pay for Salaries Advertising Labour and so on.
The biggest problem with Cable MFG is that they use 50:1 and in some cases a 100:1 ratio.

99% of them buy there wire off the shelf from Belden,Pirelli,Shawflex, you get the jist.
Cables make a big difference.You can buy decent stuff without sheling out 1k.I use a Interconnect that reatils for 300.00 I have not heard anything sound better.
My system retails for 25K so it does have the resolution to distingish.
Just because you cant measure it does not mean it has no validity.
Let your ears decide not from evey thing you have read.

The

I would agree there is a lot of money to be wasted in this hobby and certainly the area of cables is one of them but no more perhaps than with say Wilson speakers or Krell monoblocks. Take a Radio shack gold cable - set it up on the left side of your system and say a Homegrown silver cable which as cables go is priced reasonably on the right side. If you hear a difference in the sound for the better with the silver than you will not have wasted your money except for the Radio Shacks. If you do not hear a difference than make an appointment to get your hearing checked (seriously).

If you blindfold most audiophobes they couldn't tell the difference between expensive cables and the ones that came with the gear!

Craig, I assume you drive a used Yugo and wear clothes from KMart. Functionally they are no different then a Mercedes and clothes from Macys. The car gets you to where you want to go at legal speeds and the clothes cover your bod. Anymore spent and you are wasting your money.

While I agree to most of the above statements, I have to call Birdieman's statement a ridiculous one. Is HE an audiophile? Did HE the blindfold tests?
I use to listen to music with eyes closed anyway, so I don't care about these "tests" at all.
Of course cables DO affect the system's sound. Simply because they are part of the chain. Since when is a chain's quality NOT dependent on the weakest part of the whole? Hence the quality of a cable is as important as anything else in the whole system. This discovery is relatively new plus the fact that some "experts" think that wire is wire and electricity is electricity and digital is digital makes it difficult for cable to prove their importance. As someone said above: take your time (!) and listen carefully to different brands and different concepts. If your ears are still in good working condition you WILL hear the difference. Now take step #2: What "sound" suits you more in regards on the music you love to listen to. If you listen to some crap the Radio Shack cable sure will do. The more sophisticated your material is the more EVERY part of your reproduction system will be important - so are cable! Then, finally step #3: check your purse and ask your minister of financial affairs (if there is one in the family) if a cable which found your heart and soul is worth the price. Of course there are over expensive cables, but is a Porsche NOT overexpensive? It sure is, but it kicks any other sports car's ass with ease. Now, if after all, listening to reproduction of music in your home is vital for you, you never would get the idea (again) to rate one part of the chain less important than another! Give it a try! It will be Christmas to your ears, heart and soul!
Ho ho ho - and good luck!