I am in the same boat almost as the original poster. I've got around a $70K retail value in my system and probably 19% of it is cable, wires, power cords and a Shunyata Hydra ordered. I agree that getting the big important pieces figured out at first is more important such as getting your "dream speakers' and the perfect amp to mate with them. Then getting front ends that you really enjoy and pass them through a great preamp is of the utmost importance. THEN, tweaking with good cabling and power management really finishes off the sound and seems to make the most difference becasue the transparency of the system allows it to be heard. I am into those final stages now, just getting the hydra, power cords and the last piece of some really expensive speaker wire. Each of these changes now brings me closer to the music and makes it more enjoyable. I don't think the "fringe" improvments would have made sense a few years ago before I got my transport, dac and speakers that I have now. But as I said the "other" stuff is about 19% of the total retail value of the system and I've gotten 70% of my equimpent used. Some pieces were bought new at very steep discounts too.
Cable Costs Relative to System
Since making a spread sheet with my audio system prices, I have been thinking(shocked) about my total investment in cables. My total system retails at $67,000 (Digital and analog front ends included). I purchased all of it here on Audiogon so my investment is about 50%. Of that I have about 10% invested in interconnects and cables and another 10% in Power Cables (Shunyata Hydra included). That's $13,000 worth of wire. I'm starting to question whether it might be more effective to put some of this budget into acitve components. It would take forever to listen to all possible combinations, but would like to hear others experiences with relatively high end systems and cable selection. It would seem to me that the point of diminishing returns would be reached sooner with cables than with speakers and amps. Do most of you follow the 10% "rule" for cabling? How do PCs fit into this rule? Are there any super bargain cables capable of keeping up with highly resolving electronics?