35 years ago I started using a silver coated, multi strand speaker wire and it’s still in use in my second system. It’s definitely brighter sounding that straight copper, but I’m not sure I’d like all silver. Just like my interconnects. I have 2 that are silver, but the XLR’s to my amp are not.
Where do you stop?
I bought some 99.9 % pure silver speaker cables. I read the reviews before investing in them and they talked about how they seem brighter and most felt it was because of the lack of noise and more imagining. Some didn't care for the new sound but most loved what it did. I really liked the change so much I bought some to go from my preamp to my mono block tube amps. That sounded even better. So what the heck I bought more to use from a phono amp to my pre amp and then some silver phono cables. Every time I added them into my system it sounded better and better. So here is my question, The Silver in the cables according to the reviews are superior because they conduct electricity better than copper and have a lower impedance if my memory serves me correctly. What happens to the signal when it meets copper wiring in speakers or other gear? Should all the wire be replaced anywhere it can be and will it continue to sound better?
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Silver has a resistivity of 1.59x10-8 and conductivity of 6.30x107
Copper is 1.68x10-8 and 5.98x107, respectively. In other words, you absolutely will not hear a difference but your easily suggestible brain may tell you otherwise. If you believe otherwise, you'll need to replace ALL the copper wiring in your components and speakers (coils, chokes, etc) and house and power company etc, to get the best sound. Don't forget the windings in your cartridge!
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MR Skeptic, I think sometimes you are right. If I pay a lot of money for something I want it to sound better. I heard the difference in the music and so do a lot of others. Are you saying you have tried it yourself and not just looked at the science behind the material and it didn't sound different to you? |
@mrskeptic Try listening to the Acoustic Zen Silver Ref vs. the copper Matrix Ref. Basically the same geometry, dielectric, etc. with the main difference being silver versus copper. If you can’t hear a difference between these two, go get your ears checked. Put another way, get your head outta the books and actually go listen — it’s far more educational, and fun. |
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