Can you solder?

Roll your own.

http://www.diycable.com/

Affordable Audioquest is always good for the price. From the TV to the Preamp I agree that there is no reason to go wild. But for the DVD player to the Audio Research I'd do something a little nicer. That way when you watch concert videos you can really enjoy the sound. For that application I'd look towards the Audioquest Copperhead or the Diamondback.

Rolling your own would be a lot of fun if you're into that, as Jan said.

For the TV to preamp, I highly recommend bluejeans cable (blujeanscable dot com). I actually use this for all of my speaker cable and interconnects. I have not formulated a final opinion as to whether expensive cable makes a huge difference, but I have decided that it is "icing" that you do after you get the more major things sorted out. Bluejeans is really inexpensive and they have good customer service (as a plus, it is fun to read about Monster Cable's feeble attempt to sue them - the letter and response are on the website, and it is a good read). You can choose custom lengths and terminators as well.

Some people also like anti-cables, which you should check out (I think they are prettier than bluejeans, which shouldn't be the deciding factor, but if they're going to be visible, and all other things are equal...)

Quote:
I have been out of the loop for quite a while so I need to lean on you guys for some advice. I need some recommendations on interconnects from a new plasma HDTV to a Audio Research SP-16 preamp. Since neither my TV nor my DVD player are my main source of audio enjoyment, I want to keep the price reasonable. MonoPrice, Blue Jeans, etc.??

Thanks for your help.

If you have a cable box or PVR I'd recommend getting your TV sound direct from the cable box/PVR. Tivo's are awesome. I have two.

Quote:

Quote:
I have been out of the loop for quite a while so I need to lean on you guys for some advice. I need some recommendations on interconnects from a new plasma HDTV to a Audio Research SP-16 preamp. Since neither my TV nor my DVD player are my main source of audio enjoyment, I want to keep the price reasonable. MonoPrice, Blue Jeans, etc.??

Thanks for your help.

If you have a cable box or PVR I'd recommend getting your TV sound direct from the cable box/PVR. Tivo's are awesome. I have two.

what the hell does that have to do with the OP question??

troll...