Hey Gang,
I have found a interesting web page: http://2eyespy.tripod.com/myaudioandhometheaterhomepage/id3.html
The bottom line is that Radio Shack's RS Gold Interconnects are as good as any expensive cables. All this sales hype on "high quality" cables is just that, hype. Do the OutLaws have any real "blind" listening tests that show their cables are any better than the RS gold? I would love to find out.
Same holds true for speaker wires. Good old lamp cord from Home Depot is as good as Monster cable.
What do you all think? Check out the web page. It is very interesting reading.
Darth

Ah, this could be an interesting discussion (something that might even rival the ongoing logo thread)!

I have seen reviews that were very complementary of the Radio Shack Gold cables, although maybe not as complementary as you are indicating. I have also used and can vouch for the sub-par performance of most Monster Cable stuff -- very overpriced and underwhelming if you start comparing them to anything better than the piddly little interconnects that came with your VCR. (Don't even get me started on Monster video cables...) I don't doubt a bit that the Radio Shack Gold cables can out-perform Monster. As for the benefits of "high quality" cables in general, I'm somewhat set in my opinion on the subject, as I have used several fairly "fancy" cables and found some to be more to my liking than some others; I've heard differences, and the more expensive hasn't always won. I'm going to tend to agree with the people who feel that cables can make a difference (see my previous post in this thread). I'll also say that the 0.5 meter pair of Outlaw PCA's I have compare well to anything else I've had a chance to use in my system, up to and including a pair of Magnan Vi's worth probably $600 new. Likewise I have personally heard benefits as a result of upgrading from 12ga Home Depot speaker cable to "nicer" cables.

I will also say that I'd be wary of the site you linked -- the first section lists a slew of myths that the site appears to be indicating are all bogus. Some of the myths are ones that I have seen numerous other sites also declare as bogus (green pens for the edges of CD's and freezing CD's for example). Some of the other myths are ones that I have seen fairly concrete and reasonable explanations for the validity of, including bi-wiring and "break-in" for wires and speakers. If you want, I'll try to dig up some sites that explain why biwiring is a good thing, as well as some explanations of why break-in time for wires and speakers are reasonable. That's part of the appeal of the Internet -- you'll find someone who will conclusively tell you anything you want to hear if you look long enough.

I'll end this with a small anecdote. Any time I tell my fiancee about debates online or elsewhere about whether or not cables can make a difference in the sound of a system, she always looks at my somewhat mystified and says, "of course it does." When she was in junior high and high school, she was familiar enough with the sound of her dad's two-channel setup to be able to tell when he changed cables without being told that he'd made a change. And she doesn't really have an interest in the stuff (aside from enjoying listening to/watching my system).

I linked to the page and thought I'd read a bit, just for fun. Surely enough, I found some fun. The "What's All This Hoax Stuff, Anyhow?" link was refreshingly well written and pretty funny to boot. In my quick read, I found a few items which were obviously worded in a deceptive way and a few items that were just plain wrong. But it was a fun read. Creative writing is great, especially when written well. The premise is electronics April fools jokes. You always have to be careful, though, as a well told April fools joke often catches you off guard. Fiction can be fun.

I've thought about doing some scientific tests on interconnects with the good old O-scope and a generator, maybe even throwing in a huge amount of EMR to see how good the shielding works on various cables, but after viewing lots of info on 'qualified tests' by 'credable sources' I think I'll put that project way, way, way back on the burner. As Gonk hinted toward, for every opinion there is a counter point and for every fact, something else remains in dispute. If a Radio Shack cable is a good solution for someone, somebody else might want the hand extruded twice a year cable, which is only avalable through divine intervention on the first and third Tuesday of every month. I put credance in some cables being 'sub par' and others being a bit overpriced, so I'll remain in the safe territory, the middle. I'll pay a reasonable amount of money for a reasonable cable. And if I ever do discover my 'perfect cable,' I'll be content to believe that it is indeed perfect, regardless as to whether it really is or not. Perception, just like fiction, can also be fun.

S.