I'll chime in here. Silver vs OCC Copper. is definitely a comparison, but more important is solid-core vs stranded wiring. Solid core designs have all been superior in my testing.
As far as Silver vs OCC, it really depends on system synergy. I used to run silver a lot a long time ago, but have since evolved away from silver. Silver would be good if you have an incredibly warm and textured system and you need an element to compensate for a system that is too slow/warm/mushy. However, there is a fine line where silver becomes a little too sterile. Too much silver and the upper mids will start to shout and the sound becomes artificial.
I just recently built and compared two AES/EBU digital cables. Both with same Neotech gold-plated XLR connectors, braided silver-plated copper shielding. One used 21awg OCC solid core silver, the other using 21awg OCC solid-core copper. The silver cable came out being extremely and extraordinarily clean sounding. However, after about 10-15 minutes of listening I came to the conclusion that it was just a very tiny bit sterile sounding in my system and did not have the texture and engagement that I wanted. The copper, on the other hand, was very warm and textured and engaging, but did not quite have the snap and attack in the upper mids/highs.
The OCC copper cable with Oyaide Focus 1 XLR connectors (rhodium plating over silver plating over phospher bronze) was a LOT snappier and cleaner sounding than the OCC copper with gold-plated XLR. However, the silver plating could be a little too bright edged in the highs on some systems.
So, it really depends.
As far as Silver vs OCC, it really depends on system synergy. I used to run silver a lot a long time ago, but have since evolved away from silver. Silver would be good if you have an incredibly warm and textured system and you need an element to compensate for a system that is too slow/warm/mushy. However, there is a fine line where silver becomes a little too sterile. Too much silver and the upper mids will start to shout and the sound becomes artificial.
I just recently built and compared two AES/EBU digital cables. Both with same Neotech gold-plated XLR connectors, braided silver-plated copper shielding. One used 21awg OCC solid core silver, the other using 21awg OCC solid-core copper. The silver cable came out being extremely and extraordinarily clean sounding. However, after about 10-15 minutes of listening I came to the conclusion that it was just a very tiny bit sterile sounding in my system and did not have the texture and engagement that I wanted. The copper, on the other hand, was very warm and textured and engaging, but did not quite have the snap and attack in the upper mids/highs.
The OCC copper cable with Oyaide Focus 1 XLR connectors (rhodium plating over silver plating over phospher bronze) was a LOT snappier and cleaner sounding than the OCC copper with gold-plated XLR. However, the silver plating could be a little too bright edged in the highs on some systems.
So, it really depends.