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!

 

bobheinatz

As far as IC's are concerned, I have tried Jade.  They were very good and as such, may be difficult to exceed, even now, without spending perhaps much more, or not, as the case may be.  Cost and auditioning results, rarely correlate. 

I did a fairly recent speaker cable comparison.  Based on their pricing and their uniqueness, I bought a pair of Silversmith Fidelium Speaker Cables to trial for 30-days. They’re competition were Nordost Tyr II’s and Iconoclast by Belden  — an OFE wire pair and a SPTPC wire pair.  Although the Fidelum's were less costly than the Belden's and much less than the Tyr's, I found the Fideliums (with my SoundLab speakers) to be more to my liking and returned the other two loaner pairs.

An in-home audition is mandatory, especially given your very good, but felt to be old cables.  Many dealers and manufacturers offer in-home trials.  And the Cable Company -- as has been mentioned herein -- is a good loaning source.  Cable auditioning isn't a task that I enjoy.  But it is a necessary one.  Good luck!   

 

Very good cables :  digital 75 ohm :Chord Epic ; interlink: I prefer Audioquest, Wireworld, powercables: Furutech , speakercables : Kimber. But first off all: try different cables , before you take a decision. Good luck !!

I used nordost valhalla, atlas assimi and crystal cable Dreamline as interconnects.  I tried the Gekko Cables and changed everything!!!  I only use Gekko Cables and nothing else as an interconnect!  I am planning to change the speaker and power cables too!

 

Emphasis on power cables is simply wrong.  Yes, spend money on active power conditioners if you have a dirty supply, but not on passive cables that just pass raw juice.

Spend money on active cables, ie those that pass signal.  My order would be

I/C

Speaker and, a poor third

@wolf_garcia    Please explain how one cable can 'lift up' other cables.