I built a GREAT pair of cables from HomeDepot 14 gauge indoor-outdoor extension cord. If you google HomeDepot speaker cables, you should find a tutorial.
Anyway, these beat anything up to about $1K. The first cable to beat them was my Analysis Plus Solo Crystal Oval cables, but those were $2700. The HomeDepot cables had a great frequency range and seemed to pass a lot of information. The AP cables did that to a much higher degree (as they should!).
I think that if you're comparing copper to copper, than the HomeDepot cable with quality terminals will match any cable. What gives AP their edge is the shape of the cable- there is definitely something to their hollow oval design.
[disclaimer: I am a musician and have an endorsement deal with Analysis-Plus, but I chased that down AFTER I fell in love with their cables ;-)