do copper, silver & gold cables sound different ?

Lots of threads on this. I would do a search.
I think that any stereotypes about warm copper or tizzy silver are no longer valid.

Actually, silver, copper and gold are all very good conductors though silver is better than copper and copper is better than gold (and gold is better than aluminum, also a very good conductor). I agree with Lkdog that the old stereotypes are not always valid. Much depends on the design. For example, the Silver Reference cables from Acoustic Zen sound more like copper or gold to me. No single design parameter is sufficient to determine the ultimate sound of a component, including cables.

Then there's the group of cables made from an alloy. Van den Hul, JPS, Synergistic Research, etc.

Has anyone tried Iron wire? If they did I bet it would sound "Cold" and "Hard".

Mt10425,

FYI, the term "alloy" covers the previously mentioned "non-ferrous" metals (includes magnesium and titanium), along with "ferrous" types ranging from carbon-based steel mixes, to stainless catagories.

Yes very just assemble the three except no one makes a truly pure gold wire anything, but pure silver is readily available and so is copper, you could try a gold alloy as well. I have done these comparions sans gold, and can assure that they sound different. I can also tell you that the gauge of the wire you use will affect the sound as well. Try 3 different copper speaker cables of various thickness and I swear you will notice a difference. That is not snake oil, it helps if you have some buddies with different cables to do this with. This is really te only reliable way for you to decide how these metals sound. The conductivity of silver is slightly better than copper. Personally I find silver is cleaner and brighter in most cases and I use it when I want a really fast uncolored super clean sound. I use copper to tame down overly harsh or bright sound I think its warmer, this is hardly a novel finding.

On a whim, I made myself a 4' RCA/RCA IC using 99.999% pure gold wire, (2) 30ga. wires twisted together per hot and return leg, with Eichmann bullet connectors. An expensive experiment to say the least, but it sounds so good that it is still resident in my system. To summarize the sonic traits of the IC in my system....has warmth like copper, is detailed and airy like silver, but not to the degrees of either. No frequency rolloffs on either end that I can detect.

To answer the question, yes, all three absolutely sound different to my ears, but keep in mind that the physical layouts of the cables, as well as dielectrics used, solders used, and connectors used all have effects on the sonic end results of cables.

Thanks Metro for clearing things up. I didn't necessarily associate "hybrid" with alloy. The companies I mentioned aren't specific about what metals constitute their specific alloy.