Suggest affordable cable options

Consider Morrow Audio. 60 day returns allowed. They frequently have sales and you can buy used. Am running their SP-4 speaker cable and various of their ICs...MA3 & some MA4s. Have Clear Day speaker cable too which I very much like. The Morrow cable just seems to offer a little more clarity without getting "thin" sounding. Regarding silver, I did not find Clear Day/silver wire made things too bright. The Clear Day definitely brought greater heft to the musical presentation (and I don’t mean to say "heft" that was overweight or slow), not at all. I do have a CDP that is very detailed such that certain recordings can sound harsh. Am using Cardas Parsec ICs on that (between CDP and pre-amp). The Parsecs have definitely helped reduce harshness on too hot CDs.

FWIW - I was in the "wire is wire" camp for a long time until one evening when someone brought over some better cable and I heard a difference for myself. Good luck finding something affordable that gives you good sound.

Check out the Cable Company.  You can borrow from their library for a fee (10% of selling price which can deducted from the price if you decide to buy).  They might also have recommendations for you based on your gear.  There's no fool proof way that I know of to get it right "a priori".  To a certain extent you will just have to do some reading, get some advice (as you have here) and make some choices about what to try first.  Let your ears (and purse) be the final judge.   

So many different paths to choose, but it's your money, only you can make the final decision. Many folks tune the way their system sounds with cables. While others will say that if you find your system sounding a little bright, you are better off changing amp and/or speakers.

For me, it's easier to tune a systems sound to my tastes using cables, rather than changing speakers/amps, etc. Others will disagree I'm sure.
The final sound is a result of the whole system, including cables, so you make your own call.

All that said, if I were in you situation, I would probably look to buy a used pair of Acoustic Zen Satori. You should be able to find a used pair for well under $500. Full, warm, dimensional sound.

I do agree with Dorwad, that Amadi cables are an exceptional value. I also think that using pure silver doesn't have to sound bright. However, if your system already leans to the bright side, the Amadi cables will not tame the harshness either.

You can either try from the boutique dealers new, and use the trial period, and if it doesn't work return it, or buy name brand used, and if it doesn't work sell it.

One word of warning though, if buying boutique new, keep to the trial period and trust your ears. I find that many of these manufacturers will implore you to keep the cables longer as they are still "burning in".
Meanwhile, the trial period will expire while you are still trying to make them work. Common trick, don't fall for it. If they aren't working for you, send them back. Don't let them talk you into extended auditions.

All of this advice, and all that you have already received (wire is wire, stick to name brands, go for the boutique but affordable options) none of them are right, but none of them are wrong either. ;^)

Happy Hunting,
John

+1 on the Morrow cables. I have moved up the chain and am very happy, my last stop. They also are excepting trade-ins during the current promotion. I owned the clear double shot guns and they were very good cables but did not help with a pair of Monitor Audio GX300 speakers that have a tendency toward brightness.

+1 on Acoustic Zen Satori.

Wire is most definitely not wire. But it is not a function of budget, either, as Czar points out.

The physics comes directly from Maxwell's Equations: high inductance attenuates high frequency as a linear function of length, for currents in the loudspeaker range. Also, for currents in this range, dielectric absorption (DA) is not much of an issue, so teflon speaker cables don't confer much benefit over polyester. But they do cost a whole lot more.

In this case, inductance boils down to separation of the conductors: more separation, more inductance. I use two independent wires for speaker cable, and use the spacing as one method of tuning; mostly in my system I like runs of 50 cm, close together, to maintain high frequencies.

You might want to start with four pieces of 12 AWG wire, costing a few bucks, and see how it works for you. If it does work, invest in some Oxygen Free Copper wires. Never know, you might end up with a free cartridge from all the money you saved.