Fewer connections and fewer cables is a highly desirable goal. Doing anything you can to improve the source is the winning strategy. So on both counts you are on the right track.
You can currently get a wide range of excellent products used on Agon for your budget. They key to getting good value is to set up your system up with the shorter common lengths which everyone buys. As a rule of thumb you should be able to get any product for half of MSRP.
SDCampbell has given you an excellent list of places to start. The big advantage to buying these name brands is that everyone starts with them so there is a ready resale market if and when you choose to upgrade. Also the pricing tends to be competitive since there is a fair amount of product on the market at any given time - with the exception of the Siltech. In this perennial classics category you should also consider the Harmonic Technology Truthlink which is a nice warm cable.
I agree with Hdm that the plugs are critical - currently I am an Eichman fan - Here are two manufacturers that use them you might want to add to the list. First is VH Audio - the Pulsars are $170 for a 1m pair new.
Except for the TQ2 everything else listed so far is copper. Silver can be great - its all about execution. The common wisdom is that it will be brighter and can be tizzy (shrill, annoying, too much emphasis on the high end like cymbals). Others think that silver is best suited to tubes and that copper is best suited to solid state. I have been very happy with silver, as well as silver over copper and I have been less then impressed... As we say, YMMV - your mileage may vary.
Though less well known then VH or any of the others, I am very pleased with the RS Audio silver cables - especially for the price. Their base cable is $99 new for a 1m pair (www.rscables.com) and has Eichmanns, and their better cable, the Illumé is $149. They sometimes run auctions on AGon which is not a bad way to get a nice cable at a reasonable price - another brand that does this is Black Mountain Cable (BMC) which also delivers some nice product with Eichmans.
With RS Audio and BMC you need to take advantage of the home trial and send them back if you don't like them since they don't have a very strong resale market.
I will certainly second the recommendation for the Goertz MI2 assuming the big floppy cable works in your installation environment. It is a wonderful cable, just hard to do much with and very difficult to keep off the floor. I had a bi-wire pair and they are just wonderfully musical, nice detail, great air and neutral.
Though you will not find it used, I would not hesitate to purchase the Balanced Power Technologies SC-9L speaker cables - and any of their power products - I am a huge fan.
Finally - now that you have embarked on this slippery slope... you have not talked about power cables =) One really nice low cost piece is the Harmonic Tech AC11. I would get one of the entry level BPT boxes to plug everything into - will make a much bigger difference then you might expect.
You can currently get a wide range of excellent products used on Agon for your budget. They key to getting good value is to set up your system up with the shorter common lengths which everyone buys. As a rule of thumb you should be able to get any product for half of MSRP.
SDCampbell has given you an excellent list of places to start. The big advantage to buying these name brands is that everyone starts with them so there is a ready resale market if and when you choose to upgrade. Also the pricing tends to be competitive since there is a fair amount of product on the market at any given time - with the exception of the Siltech. In this perennial classics category you should also consider the Harmonic Technology Truthlink which is a nice warm cable.
I agree with Hdm that the plugs are critical - currently I am an Eichman fan - Here are two manufacturers that use them you might want to add to the list. First is VH Audio - the Pulsars are $170 for a 1m pair new.
Except for the TQ2 everything else listed so far is copper. Silver can be great - its all about execution. The common wisdom is that it will be brighter and can be tizzy (shrill, annoying, too much emphasis on the high end like cymbals). Others think that silver is best suited to tubes and that copper is best suited to solid state. I have been very happy with silver, as well as silver over copper and I have been less then impressed... As we say, YMMV - your mileage may vary.
Though less well known then VH or any of the others, I am very pleased with the RS Audio silver cables - especially for the price. Their base cable is $99 new for a 1m pair (www.rscables.com) and has Eichmanns, and their better cable, the Illumé is $149. They sometimes run auctions on AGon which is not a bad way to get a nice cable at a reasonable price - another brand that does this is Black Mountain Cable (BMC) which also delivers some nice product with Eichmans.
With RS Audio and BMC you need to take advantage of the home trial and send them back if you don't like them since they don't have a very strong resale market.
I will certainly second the recommendation for the Goertz MI2 assuming the big floppy cable works in your installation environment. It is a wonderful cable, just hard to do much with and very difficult to keep off the floor. I had a bi-wire pair and they are just wonderfully musical, nice detail, great air and neutral.
Though you will not find it used, I would not hesitate to purchase the Balanced Power Technologies SC-9L speaker cables - and any of their power products - I am a huge fan.
Finally - now that you have embarked on this slippery slope... you have not talked about power cables =) One really nice low cost piece is the Harmonic Tech AC11. I would get one of the entry level BPT boxes to plug everything into - will make a much bigger difference then you might expect.