Best component cables silver or copper


Has anyone compared a heavier gauge of solid copper core to a smaller gauge silver core.I want to find out the best material for video.I want a component cable that is going to give me the sharpest picture
gdecent33

Showing 3 responses by carl109

From speaking with a cable manufacturer (the owner in fact), I learnt that the skin effect is far more pronounced (and beneficial) in video transmission than audio, so silver-plated copper is probably the best combo for video frequencies.

Having said that, Jaybo is right; having done some work years back with television studios, it's copper copper everywhere. Now that was for normal analog transmission, so who knows what TV studios are using for freeview HD digital? Perhaps it's worth finding out, since what the pro's use is a good guide for us.
"to "fuse" the silver into the copper creating a near alloy."

This is exactly my problem with the dodgy marketing of some expensive cables. They use pseudo-science phrases like "near alloy" to hopefully impress hifi enthusiasts into thinking their cables are something special.
I'm sorry, but a metal is either an alloy (a substance composed of 2 or more metals) or it isn't.

We need to stop thinking some cable companies have re-invented the wheel; by all means test and compare cables, but stick to tried and tested cable designs from trusted manufacturers and you're unlikely to go wrong.

PS. Davemitchell's answer is very accurate - take his advice!
Glenn, my post was not at all intended to denigrate you or your post, and I'm sorry if you took it that way. I was simply responding to your quote of the manufacturer's claim about a special bonding process to produce a 'near alloy', which I assumed you'd posted accurately.

My point is that such a claim, if the cable company made it as you stated, is a misleading use of the English language to sound impressive. It's like saying someone is 'nearly pregnant'; you are or you're not.

That's not to say LAT haven't come up with some excellent cables. It's just some of the marketing that goes on to try to impress us (especially those who aren't experts in the science & physics behind their techniques) is something I find insulting. It happens in all markets, not just hifi, where marketing stretches reality as far as possible to make consumers think their product is the best and we can't live without it.
Just think how many people out there have bought high definition panels and are only using them to watch normal analog TV and DVD's, and will do so for years. They were convinced they needed a new plasma or LCD, when their CRT was probably doing a perfect job for their needs.

Remember, if someone stands to make money out of you, then don't automatically trust everything they say.