Cables 101 for a beginner

... OOPS, spoke too soon. fatwyre.com does have a "library" policy...

http://www.fatwyre.com/about.html

Hey Dennis,
I'm in downtown DC also, whereabouts are you neighborhood wise. I'm in Logan Circle. Also, my .02 cents, buy the best wires you can afford they really do make a difference. I've had good luck with Stealth cables, which you can usually find on here used at good prices. But if you can experiment, do, it's all about system synergy. Happy Listening!

I was in the same situation as you in January of 2002. I heard some after market power cords and high quality cables and was hooked. At the time the company Virtual Dynamics was just starting to get popular here on Audiogon and their prices seemed fair so I tried out some of their cables. To make a long story short, I now have my full system cabled with their product. Where you are now in your system evolution I would go for their Audition package which comes with IC's, Speaker cables and power cords. This way you have the chance to hear the difference each upgrade makes. I also believe they have some sort of return policy there. Their website is www.virtualdynamics.ca
The owner 'Rick' has been so good in dealing with me that I have to take the time to recommend the company. BTW I have compared their cables with the Cardas Golder Cross, DIY pure Silver cables and picked the Virtual Dynamics over both.
My system consists of:
Rogue Audio Magnum M120 Monoblocs
EAD Ultradisk 2000 CDP
Virtual Dynamics Reference and Audition Cabling
Magnum Dynalab Etude 2001 Tuner
Cliffhanger Audio CHS-2 W2
You can see system pictures at:

My System

Do the fatwyre library, Dennis, and the interconnect and speaker cables in one shot. When you get the chance to experiment you may come to find that there are more misnomers than rules of thumb.

Retain the T4 at least for now; that's the best thing you have at the moment cable-wise. MIT makes some better stuff too, but that can come later. Get some decent interconnects to experiment with. When that's settled, then try out some decent upgrade AC cords, starting with source component. Forget about a dedicated AC line until you get the basics right. Then try out line conditioners & eventually a dedicated line.