After reading through a whole bunch of cable threads, I was wondering how much the average head-fi'er spends on aftermarket cables in total. It can be any type of cable, whether for headphones (Zu Mobius/Cardas/Etc), interconnects, power cables, whatever! As long as it is used in your audio set up and is also something you plan on keeping for the long term (i.e. not testing out and deciding you hate the cable, and return it for a refund).

Oh, please refrain from turning this into a flame war like all the other cable threads recently. I do welcome discussion on how much the aftermarket cables have improved the enjoyment of your setup, or if you felt the products provided a minimal gain, go ahead and talk about that as well.

I've spent $90 total, and for the money, the improvements are small, but worth it; so far..

Of course I've bought used, so retail on these products is somewhere around $150.

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just the stuff i use now. roughly 250 for recabling for 3 headphones (zu, black dragon, akzip) is 750 + 2 ICs (1 XLR, 1 RCA) at about $150 each + 2 PC at roughly $100 each = $1250. very reasonable amount considering the total cost of my system. and if you just include one headphone and one IC - because you really can't use more than one at a time - the amount is only 600. 600 is not that much for an amp/player combo of 5K (retail 8K) and everything has been an improvement over what i had before, which for the most part was stock. if you have decent gear, you should try to get the most out of it and one way to do this is by connecting everything together with good cables.

if i had more of a budget, i would spend much more on cables and i plan to at some point. in reality, you only need three good cables for a headphone setup - 1 IC, 1 PC for your amp, and another PC for your source. i think for my setup spending $500 on each would not be unreasonable. while i am in no rush to change my PCs (i am pretty happy with them for now - at least until i hear something else or just get bored/curious) i am definitely in the market for a new balanced IC. i like my Silver Resolutions, but would like to experiment with something else - maybe something from Nordost. you have to experiment with new cables for two reasons - to see what (if any) differences can be heard among them and to find the ones that best suit your system and the sound you are looking for.

another reason to spend money on cables is that it just makes sense. to me it doesn't make sense to spend x on amp, y on source, z on headphones, where each represent a not inconsiderable amount and to spend some paltry, pauper sum on cables. cables are components too and part of the overall equation. even if cables do not make night and day or easily noticeable differences (although sometimes they do), it just makes sense to buy decent cables and to be open to the possibility that they have positive effects on the overall sound - even if you cannot easily point them out.

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surely, you jest. this thread won't make it past a few pages of staying on topic.

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Yeah, but at least I can say I tried.

I am genuinely interested in the topic though, and I hope people continue doing the poll even when/if the thread gets derailed.

I'm curious as well, but the $500 point seems a tad high. There are people around here who "believe" in cables and have aftermarket ICs and power cords but stay well under it.

EDIT : I'm actually more curious about what % of a system's budget ends up on cables, and how it scales up or down. I'm at 5% right now on a $500 system.

About 60$ total worth of Mogami, 14ga Mil-spec, and 22ga neotech. Plus 5 cheap neutrik 3.5mm plugs.

Mostly for my ppa build. the mogami for the hardwired signal in, the 14ga mil-spec for the power to/from steps to board/AC jack. And the neotech for the signal internal wiring.

Someone later mentioned I could have just ordered more mogami, and split it, instead of getting the neotech. Would have saved some money. Oh well.

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Hmm, you're probably right. I should've included more price brackets below $500 to accomodate a larger pool of people. Ah well, next time. Although I kept locking my thinking comparing the price points of cables to desktop amps.

I spent $250 on Black Dragons for my Senns and $30 so far on some BJC RCA's.

Edit: I forgot to add the $130 I spent on a DH Labs Power Plus cable.

10ft aPureSound Balanced V3 Headphone Cable (HD650s)
4 ft aPureSound V3 Headphone Cable (HD25s)
10ft Silver Dragon Balanced Cable (K701s)
10ft Blue Dragon Balanced Cable (DT880s)
aPureSound iPod LOD
aPureSound Mini-Mini

oops i voted 500-1000 but it looks like im actually over 1000. yeeesh.

$1001+
Where the RSAD Poiema!!! Signature alone retails for $980...

Hmmmm,
Are just talking about Head-fi related cables
Audio Line Out
RnB Audio
Stefan Audio Arts
Audioquest
Or also home cables
Synergistic Research
etc...

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Any cable, doesn't have to be directly related to your headphone set up but as long as its used in some kind of audio rig. Whether it be your speaker or headphone rig it doesn't really matter.

I spent $30 on a Zu Mobius Oxyfuel cable, the rest I've gotten at the dollar store. To be honest I don't see much of a difference, but then again I'm using pretty low-fi stuff.

IC 280... (yes.. it is a bit pricy)
power cord $60
sold my 650.. so no more after market cable for headphone..
(may be getting one for W5000 in the future..

only about $350