I would gladly use the $20 cable

I am frugal. If a $20 cable sounded the same as a $3,000 one, I would gladly buy the cheap one and put the money into my business. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

I did not start as a believer. For more than a decade I bought whatever looked decent: a nice box, some online reviews, no percentage of the budget, no research. The conviction came later, cable by cable, more than 100 of them across every category and price point, from $20 to several thousand per cable.

That is the part people miss when they picture someone like me. A frugal man does not enjoy paying for wire. He does it only when the difference refuses to go away, in his own system, month after month. I tested them, compared them, sold some and kept others.

My dealer warned me to stay a virgin, and he was right that cables lead to upgrades. Over $35,000 later, with years of experimenting behind me, I know exactly what that warning would have saved me. And you know what? I don't regret it.

Every cable I bought taught me something about this hobby. I would still take the cheap one tomorrow, if only it sounded the same.