Jhm731,
I can’t speak to the type of spades used on the cable in your picture, the Lotus Type SE (TSE) speaker cable uses Furutech FP-201 (R) spades and FP-202 (R) Bananas standard, these run about $20+ each. The least expensive of the three processes each TSE set undergoes alone cost over $200, and these are our negligible costs. All of our designs utilize extensive R&D, cutting edge materials and processes that we believe make their performance unattainable in cables costing vastly more. We don’t skimp on any part of our products, from our high purity conductors, to our high performance shields, to our high speed insulators and, to our connector choices, fidelity is paramount. DD products are a lot more than a sum of their parts.
Despite all these, we believe that system synergy and customer preference play a major role in determining which cables work best in any given system. This is why we encourage trial of DD products in your own system keeping in mind that the DD design mandate is that DD products bring you closer to the original recording with a natural and musically accurate performance.
Bill