Good lord, this thread is so full of BS that I feel sorry for the OP. A dozen or more wildly differing opinions, and most of them not answering the basic question. No wonder why we are losing the next generation in regards to good audio.
I own Morrow Audio cables, Audioquest, Wireworld and others. I actually own the Mackenzie XLR which I selected after experimenting with my set up. Good cables are not snake oil. People that are stuck in this mind set seem to adhere to it with a fanatical attitude for some reason. The Mackenzie is a pretty decent cable, and would have been a no brainer at the discounted price the OP had been offered.
1) The different kinds of copper that Audioquest and others use actually makes a difference. Insulation materials used matters as well. The cheap fine strand copper speaker wire (lamp cord) can be the worst sounding cable in your system. Buy some Audioquest Type 4 speaker cables in their "budget" by-the-foot price. It will open your eyes.
2) Silver conducts electricity better than copper. The brass connectors that most budget cables use is an inferior conductor. Look it up.
3) Many companies charge too much for their really good to best cable lines. But good deals can be had.
4) Same for good audio components. One can get much more bang for buck with Schiit Audio components. It's a lousy name, but does compete favorably with the Parasounds, NADs and such at usually less than half the price.
