After going through a bunch of pretty good equipment, I have yet to hear cables that have the sonic impact of an upgrade to my source, preamp, amp or speakers. I have had good luck with the previously mentioned Belden cord, the Asylum cord (Belden or Volex with better ends), the VH Audio cords, and some home brew cords using the VH Audio wire, and special shielding/vibration damping material with high quality ends. Before I would venture into the $500+ PC territory, I would try to have everything else dialed in first, including speaker cables and IC's. To answer your specific question, I would start at the lower end and work upward. You can't really hurt anything going with the Belden/Volex or Asylum cords, and those should be an upgrade to your stock cords. Another tip is to clean and polish the ends of whatever cords you use. Deoxit and ProGold, or Brasso should work well. I would also suggest borrowing a higher priced cord from a buddy just to see if you notice a difference, before spending big bucks on one.
