Need silver power cord help


I am seeking help from anyone who can offer it to me.

Over the summer, I would like to construct a power cord. Actually, four of them. It would be based on the results I and others have come up with over the past year. My cord will be an all out assault on the state of the art. It will probably be 8 gauge. It will DEFINITELY be all silver. I may try an air dielectric approach. Not yet sure.

My problem is finding connectors which are all silver. Isn't that the way to do it? I mean, there are some awesome cables out there. But, virtually all of them seem to me to be limited by their connectors. Even the WattAGate is not up to snuff. I have found one company(Stage3Concepts) who is making power cords which are silver from stem to stern. Both the male plug and IEC connectors are solid silver. I remember previously that they would sell parts on their website. These days, that feature has disappeared. I ran into the owner at the NY Hifi Show, and inquired about the parts. He refused to sell them to me. Stating liability issues. He did say that he makes the connectors himself. The connections to the wire are made via both crimping and silver soldering.

I come before you all in search of ideas. Ideally, I would like to buy something off the shelf. Does anyone have any sources, or ideas? I approached AlphaCore Goertz, as they are now making both speaker and interconnect connectors of silver. Power cord parts are not in the works. Likewise, WBT has no interest. Seems as these two companies, as forward thinking as they try to be, have sort of missed the boat in the AC arena. I was thinking that AudioNote may potentially make these(but don't expect it), but have yet to check. Does anyone know of a source?

As a last resort(and I don't know if I would resort to this), I could approach a jeweler who specializes in findings/mountings/castings. Silver is very cheap, and the cost would probably be less than what we would expect. I believe the male end would be quite straightforward. The IEC end would be a different story, I am afraid. Again, just looking for answers. Thanks to all in advance.
trelja

Showing 3 responses by trelja

Thanks for both of your responses. Bob, I have considered buying a Stage3Concepts cord for parts, but that would remove the price advantage of making my own. Although, having the silver connectors(if they do offer a major improvement) might offset the higher price. Nemo, everything you say is correct. But, it does seem that we are able to ferret out nice gains with power cords, despite what is in our walls. It seems every little bit helps, but I can not doubt your assertion that there is no substitute for having good cable all the way back to the box. And no, I canot afford to run silver all the way back there.
Thanks for all the great input. Dekay, I am happy about what you have said. I have been meaning to take a close look at my IEC ends this week, just have yet to get around to it. Thank you for the heads up. I now see this project should be feasible. Jaykapur, in response to your valid assertion, perhaps the silver is treated or plated. I know that gold or rhodium(another of the 8 precious metals, silver in color) plating can be done at a jeweler for very little cost. I just made up a ring for my girlfriend, it was 18K gold, and I had it flashed in rhodium(which is many times more expensive than gold). My friend's father is a diamond setter on Philadelphia's Jeweler's Row. This is probably the largest diamond district in the US, outside of NYC. I needed him to set 3 sapphires in the ring, and flash it with rhodium. Total cost? $4 for the plating(plus $8 for setting the stones)! And those are his normal prices, he didn't give me a break. Evo845, I am definitely interested in us pursuing this. How interested are you in going down this road? What would be your lead time, and expected cost? Let's presume we would need 4 sets(IEC and male end) of silver connectors for me. Others may also want to jump on the bandwagon. I can possibly envision us making 10 in the first run. If we do have the molds made up, can we make them permanent(or sort of...), to ensure that if we want to make future runs, we would not have to reinvest in a mold? I should also check into the people on Jeweler's Row who do findings/castings/mountings. They do not really sell jewelry, they more do the actual work, and then sell to retail jewelers. The price of silver is very low($4.45/ounce yesterday), people in this hobby keep forgetting that. Or do they only want US to forget that?
I would also like to say that I want this project to be of the benefit of anyone who is interested. In pursuit of a great power cord, I may make a couple of designs. I would like to solicit the help of someone like a MegaSam or Brulee. Someone who REALLY knows cable. Those guys are stars. Send them off a couple of designs, and let the best one win. Then, we can offer a DIY project for everyone(at no cost, of course). Featuring sources for the materials, and plans. I have so much faith in our members here. I honestly believe that we can make a killer power cord, for not a lot of money. If anyone thinks they would like to get involved, just holler. Thank you.