@davidclarke: Good grief. Thought I'd time-warped back to the 1990's with the "100 feet of Romex" argument. Give it a rest.
@narcissus: I've tried quite a number of different DIY recipes with differing connectors, wire, and designs. My trials have been with the less expensive Furutech connectors (F1-11's in copper, gold, and rhodium), the Sonar Quests in copper and gold as well as a few unremarkable Hubbels and Home Depot specials. Wire has been everything from gold plated silver to Home Depot THNN to some supposedly 2 billion 9's purity copper I picked up somewhere a long time ago to Neotech PCOCC of differing gauges . At the end of the day, the best sounding cord I've constructed was also the simplest: bulk Neotech NEP-3002 Mk 3 terminated with Furutech F1-11 unplated copper plugs with the outer shield connected to the earth (safety) ground at the wall plug end only (the safety ground wire itself is obviously connected at both plugs). The Furutech plugs at every level are very nicely constructed, but you pay for it. I can't relate anything sonically on their more expensive offerings as they were a little too rich for my blood (although I did spring the $$ for their GTX-D rhodium outlet and have been very happy with it). I also like the Sonar Quest copper (unplated) connectors. I've shied away from their plated offerings as they use a layer of nickel plating on the copper prior to the final plating. I don't like nickel in power connections (or interconnect/speaker connections) as it adds a layer of glare to my ears. That's personal bias and preference and not a proclamation, so take it FWIW. Some say that unplated copper connectors can be zippy and tizzy, which I find to be true as well UNTIL the connectors have been well broken in at which time that trait goes away entirely (I have an AudioDharma cable cooker that significantly speeds up the process....without having to listen to it). Hope this helps a little and doesn't confuse things more. :)
