My cables total about 30% of total system cost. Almost everything used or demo, so I don’t hunk it’s a fair comparison 30% seems like a lot but I follow my ears. They told me to buy Nordost power cables after having bought Nordost ICs (Frey 1 and Heimdall 2) all round and speaker cables (they are acoustic zen holograms). As long as I hear the difference and they fit within my mid-fi construct, I’m there. So a $300 Nordost Vishnu and a $400 Frey IC and a $300 Heimdall 2 digital all connected to my $600 Marantz SA8004 CD player seems perfectly natural. Yes, it’s a disease.
What's your investment threshold?
This question only goes out to those like myself who enjoy the system gains running better cables bring. Non-believers can save their money and comments for another thread.
Do you impose on yourself a percentage range for cable spending relative to other components?
Speaking for myself, I do consider cables to be a component decision worthy of budget, but I seem to have stayed in the 10-30% range of what I've spent on other components. I can't see spending $1k for a cable on a $1k component for example. I have spent $1,500 for speaker cables for a $6k amp. That seems nearer the high end of my range but it still fits.
I realized I haven't planned this as a hard rule, but that's kind of how this has worked out for me over time. Anyone out there think a much higher percentage is justified? I won't argue because these improvements are worth all the enjoyment you can get, so more power to you.