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Serious Question About Silver vs Copper Conductivity for Power

Yes, I realize that this topic is going to bring out the sharks, but if I get at least one serious response, it will all be worth it.

I understand that silver conducts 7% faster than copper.  I also understand that using a dielectric insulation like Teflon is best at keeping the wire from overheating, stopping signals entering and stopping signals from leaving the conductor. I understand that a certain amount of math is involved in selected gauge of wire depending largely on how much power the component is going to take, and how much the amperage is (20 or 15).

My question is regarding certain features applied to either silver or copper conductors that may or may not have an advantage over one or the other.

I have the Kimber Kable P14 Palladian.  This uses 14awg copper conductors insulated in Teflon.  Then it adds a massive filter that attempts to mitigate the standing wave ratio to as close to 1:1 as possible. I had Kimber’s Ascent power cable prior.  It’s identical to the Palladian, except the filter. I have heard the difference between using those two cables.  Apparently, mitigating the standing wave ratio lowers the noise floor significantly. However, any filter that chokes the signal and will slow the electrical current.

As I understand it, the amplifier works by opening the rectifier to allow the capacitors to fill with energy that the system will draw from.  Being able to keep the rectifier open and fill the capacitors as fast as possible, reducing lag time, has the effect of creating more realistic and detailed sound.

With that said, changing to a power cable that uses pure silver insulated in Teflon, will ensure that power is delivered potentially faster.  Although, the silver power cable will NOT have a filter.  Therefore the standing wave ratio will not be mitigated and the electrical signal will not be choked either.

So, would the amplifier benefit from faster electrical current or slower, but cleaner electric current?  Since this signal isn’t directly applied to sound, the concepts of “colder” or “warmer” sound should not apply.

Can someone help me out without poking fun at the question?  Additionally, I am not interested in having a cable-theory debate.  If you don’t believe cables make any difference, I will not debate or have discourse on that topic.

 

128x128guakus
deadhead1000's avatar
deadhead1000
711 posts
 

@guakus 

You are correct, the speed is the same, but the resistance is lower in silver, so in "theory" more current can travel through Silver then Copper. But since every wire up to the plug in your room is copper, having silver from the plug to the amp isn't going to give you any boost in current. As for if a Silver power cord sounds better then Copper regardless, I ain't stepping into that pile of wires....personally I use  mid-range priced copper AC cords, but more for the better shielding and connectors then anything. 

guakus's avatar
guakus OP
351 posts
 

@cleeds 

I suppose I don't fully understand resistance. Lowered resistance should mean that electrical current can pass without as much hindrance. For example, I can run faster on the open road, than if I tried to run in waist deep water.

mitch2
3,740 posts
 

A wire would heat up when too much current runs through too small of a wire. Your 14 awg copper Kimber Kable P14 Palladian power cord should be just fine for the 50W rms power amplifiers inside of your Audioengine HD6 Wireless Speakers. Unless there is a problem you are trying to solve, I cannot imagine a change in your power cord making a sonically noticeable improvement for your situation. Save your money for booze and enjoy the music.

guakus's avatar
guakus OP
351 posts
 

@deadhead1000 

If I am not mistaken, you're saying that copper and silver conduct at the same rate of speed, but silver's lowered resistance means it can carry more current than copper?  If that's true, then having an 8awg copper wire will deliver more current than a 14awg silver wire? Therefore the only advantage in power would be solely having more conductive material than another cable.

In regards to power path, I have more silver in the path than is common.  The house mains are copper, but the outlet is silver.  The mains plugs are silver and that cable has a primary silver core (and another conductor that is copper.) Albeit the power distributor is all copper. Then going out is copper all the way through.

I have heard performance increases changing power cables. Interestingly enough, those changes were upgrades to one of the following categories:

1. Gauge size (larger.)
2. Plug quality.  Gold plated bronze to gold plated copper.
3. Passive filters.

This will potentially be the first time I have attempted a change that was solely the core conductor.

guakus's avatar
guakus OP
351 posts
 

@mitch2 

I have 45 bottles of different Bourbon, 12 different Rums, 4 Scotches, 5 Irish Wiskeys.  I don't need any more booze. ;)

Also, I am solving a power problem: Dynamic Transient Current Delivery.

As stated in my OP, the faster you can fill the capacitor for the amps to draw on, the better the performance.

The best example of this is when I was running Audioengine A2+.  Those are tiny and needed far less power. Those were also running on the Palladian. The power main was the Shunyata Research Delta. I felt the sound quality was incredible, except a bit thin because of the size of the drivers. I upgraded to the HD6 with the expectation that it would sound better than the A2+.  It was not. In fact, it was flat, non-engaging, and generally blah. All it did was add more bass that I didn't really want. That bass was overpowering all other sound.

I tried changing:
1. ) Main incoming sound cable.
2. ) Internal fuse.
3. ) Room treatment.
4. ) Vibration solutions.

These all made changes to the sound for the better, but not in the amazing way the A2+ was doing. Like an envelopment or bubble of sound that had both clarity and realism. This was still a wall of two dimensional sound.  It had better clarity now, and better sound stage, and the bass was becoming more tamed, allowing for more high frequency data to come through.  But it just wasn't there.  Until...

I upgraded the mains power cable from Shunyata's Delta to the Alpha. I went from 10awg to 8awg. That did it, for the most part. That created the envelopment and engagement I was after. Other tweaks followed and aided in more clarity, but nothing as drastic as changing the power cable.

So, if the other comments are correct, then all I did was add more conductive material to the power path. Which now begs the question if 20 cores of 28awg silver wire individually insulated in Teflon is equal to or better in terms of conductivity than 3 14awg copper bundles insulated in Teflon, but with a filter?
 

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