spkr cable: copper, silver or combo/hybrid?


Silver interconnects are too bright/harsh in my solid state system so I opted for Synergistic Research hybrids (superlative soundstage!). Now I'm faced with the question of what to use for speaker cables, copper, silver or a combo/hybrid. Will I negate the effect of the SR IC if I choose silver? I put my money in the IC and am looking for budget speaker cables in the belief that the IC is a more critical component. Am considering Signal Cable,Silent Audio, Tara Phase II... in other words, speaker cables below $200. Plus I BI-WIRE. Rega Planet into a Marantz vintage integrated driving Mordaunt-Short speakers. Input?
pmboyd
I'm buying Alpha Core Goertz MI-2 Veracity. They have a Python MI-2 bi-wire as well that is in your budget. If you want to experiment they also have a Python Hybrid bi-wire, but it will cost you more. Like you I also use silver ICs (Nordost Red Dawn) so I'm hoping the copper acts as a neutralizer. Money back guarantee ensures if you don't like them you can return them.
I would suggest you audtion a pair of Acoustic Zen Satori speaker wires that are about what your budget allows, used that is, which offer great performance and compete with much more expensive wires. These are copper wires and no you will not negate the gain of your silver but add smoothness and liquidity to your overall system. Hope this helps, but remember you always have to audtion any wires in your own system and let your ears do the deciding.
Try the non-cables advertised here on Audiogon. They are very cheap, and they will surprise you, or if you have some telephone wire, try single lead runs as per the 47 Labs wire, or some cat 5 wire if available - bare leads, no connectors, reverse the directionality of hot and ground wire so directionality is constant for the entire run. Run the cables as far away from anything electrical as you can. Give them at least a week of music play time to burn in. At least you can have some great fun while you save up for those megabuck cables, and you might decide you don't need them!
Above all, enjoy youself! I own a megabuck system, but if I like the tune, I don't care if it's playing on a cheap AM radio - I'm still going to dance!
Some misunderstanding here: my interconnect is not pure silver but a copper/silver hybrid. Silver ICs I found to be too bright in my system. That being the case, can I expect that silver speaker cable will also be too bright or will it simply be more accurately revealing of the detail disclosed by my SR IC which has a smooth, non-harsh quality?
Also, AZ Satori bi-wire speaker cable, even used, is not in the budget range I indicated.
Pmboyd,

Sorry, I misread your post. From my research good silver speaker cables will present a lot of detail, but lack the warmth of copper. Since you're using hybrid ICs it may be worth trying the silver cables, but my Alpha Core/Goertz recommendation would not apply here as they are out of your budget. However, I would still recommend the copper Python Bi-wire and perhaps you can find a suitable silver cable to compare against. As I previously mentioned these are offered on a 30 day trial basis so not much to lose.
If your budget is limited to under $200 for a bi-wire pair of cables (presumably 8-10 feet long), then you should audition the Kimber 4VS or 8VS. If you can find a set of used Kimber 4TC, then they should also be within your budget and will offer slightly better sound. (The only difference between the "TC" and "VS" lines is the type of dielectric/insulation used to coat the wires.)

If, however, your budget will stretch to accommodate a set of used Alpha-Core Goertz MI2, they are my first recommendation. Great cables for a very modest cost (by high-end standards).
You can build your own high quality copper Speaker wires.Its not  hard at all .The results will amaze you ....