what mid priced cables should i buy?

Dave, the 901's are a weak link for sure. The best 901's made were the first series and they are still quite lacking in terms of "good" reproduction. Rather than spend a bunch of money on cables that will only take you so far, i would continue to put your pennies away on a day by day basis and work towards another set of speakers. THEN worry about cables.

This is not to say that you shouldn't buy some better cables if a good deal falls in your lap, but i would try to prioritize as to what will make the biggest difference. Besides that, you would be "voicing" the system for the 901's which you may end up changing sometime soon down the road. You would then be back to square one and may end up searching for different cables that were more suitable to the system / speakers that you end up with.

Make a list of the things that are most important to you about sound reproduction and what you think a speaker should do. Then look at that list and compare notes with what the 901's deliver. If they stack up pretty good, keep them and go for new cables. If you find them lacking in several areas, take that list with you to a local shop and see what they have that will meet those demands.

Best wishes and good luck. Sean
>

Sean's advice is dead on. When you do get back to the cables, I would suggest you try Analysis-Plus Copper 9's for the speaker cables. I've had very good luck with them. I haven't tried MIT cables, so I can't comment on them. If you search the forums you will find information on them. Lastly, buying cables used is a VERY good thing to do. They'll be broken in, most audiophiles seem to take very good care of their gear and lastly the quality doesn't go downhill unless they're damaged. Then there's the usual used pricing which tends to run about half of new pricing.

Seans first paragraph is right on the money. A bunch of 4.5" paper drivers just aren't high-end. Spend your $450 on some new speakers and you'll get better sound for sure. Sell the 901's and spend the money plus the $450 and get even better speakers. Don't buy any tweako cables or anything else until you've done that.

I SECOND SEAN!!! The speakers need upgrading badly! You could put even more expensive gear and wires and such on those speakers (no Bose bashing here...) and you'll not get your money's worth out of it!!..until you get new speakers that is. The speakers are the single biggest sonic signature in the electronics chain, and will make the most difference in overall sound.
So, what I'm seconding here is that you'd get much more milage out of your money spent on upgrading the speaks, yes!
Then, and only then, would I look into tinkering with wires...which do, indeed, make a difference in sound. Cheers