My suggestion would be do audition several. The Cable Company has a library that is perfect for this. They charge for use of the library but will credit that to your purchase. This is definitely the way to go. The last time I purchased interconnects, I borrowed several cables, all in the $1K to $4K range. Based on reviews, all were very good but a few were supposedly exceptional. I ended up purchasing Cardas Clear Reflection because it was the best balanced and best sounding option in my system. To me, I liked the Reflection's sound better than the Cardas Clear and some of the other more expensive cables. Others in the group were Audioquest, Acoustic Zen, Nordost, and Kimber. I would have definitely selected a different cable just based on the reviews. Reviews are a good place to start but you really need to have the cables in your system and do some critical listening.
Choosing new cables
I am looking to upgrade my current cables. This should be my last system as I retired a few years ago and most of my components have been seriously updated in the last couple of years. I have been in this audio hobby for about 50 years and have always have great sounding musical systems.
My current cables all work and sound great but are 15 - 20 years old. So updating is what I need. I am budgeting around $10k - $15k for all new cables.
I have always felt the i/c's were the most important cable followed by the speaker cables and the power cords. However I am now leaning towards spending more on the power cords followed by the speaker cables and last the i/c.
I know all cables are very important but how would you prioritize the cables? Any suggestions on any brands would also be appreciated!