Cable Costs Relative to System

10% rule is way too much for something that has such little audible effect on sound (electronics engineers will predict that after a minimum basic size of copper cable is met then it has zero audible effect and ABX testing of ordinary cables against costly cables seems to support this view...)

A few hundred dollars is all you should typically need for all cables. If you are continuously tweaking around with cables then very likely you are not quite happy with the overall sound of your system or your room acoustics => changing speakers will have the biggest impact => cables may make you feel better but they are unlikely to make a significant audible difference 9 unless you have a problem)

Trelja. you are so on the mark here. The problem here is that agreat deal of the posters here have more money than brains and need to brag on how much they spend. I have sold wire and cable for years. Have worked with Mfgs on many specialtiy cables. The cost to produce world class wire is low double digit . Its hype and lies and tom folory. As you stated trejla 500 gets you World class and will compete against some of the thousands of dollar rip off cable.
Dont let the mags influence you.
Reminds me of a story told by a friend in the cable business. He went to a show with a great Interconnect at 149.00. It was awesome sounding. He got no Interest in it at all. Was considered chaep. The following year he took same cable had it done in 3 colors and priced it at 299.00 599.00 999.00. He picked up 14 dealers with that same same no one wanted when it was 149.00. That sums up what cable is all about. Snake oil.

Good cable makes a difference. But you dont need to spend more than a few hundred dollars.

Well, I guess it's funny, but it's now almost a full four years after I submitted that post, but I feel even STRONGER in that opinion now. The price of wire is, in the majority of cases, set by the type of artificial means Mapleleafs3 laid out.

As an example, I personally have a friend who sells a cable for $99 that the rest of the high end audio world gladly pays $1400 for. It's EXACTLY the same cable, apart from the solder and terminations. And, before anyone asks, the soldering job of my friend actually surpasses the more expensive cable. Go figure. He even feels dirty about selling it for $99, that's the kind of profit we're talking about.

Another anecdote, a dearly departed friend of mine used to tell me about a friend of his who is one of the longtime biggest cable guys in this hobby. I mean, beyond household name. Well, my friend, who was also beyond a household name, wound up needing an extra interconnect at a high end audio show a while back. His cable friend had one of his employees fetch one to save the day. When my friend asked his buddy what the cost of the cable was, as he wanted to reimburse him, the answer he received was, "The cost is $3000. But, don't worry, it doesn't cost me anywhere near that. In fact, why don't you just keep it..." Hmmm, didn't sound like something he was too worried about.

Again, different wire SOUNDS different. It's even critically important. But, use your head, and you'll get the best for a lot less than the rest pay.

yep, I love to brag. That must be my motive...

Maple - you have hit the nail entirely on the head. People just want to throw money away. I recently saw a nordost "dem" at a hsow - except it wasnt a dem, they just talked about how their cable was a bargain even at 1000s per metre. A comparison with a $100 cable would have been very instructive if they have faith in their product.