Silver vs Copper interconnects

[manis]

Hi Grainger,

Do you have any thoughts on silver vs coper interconnects?

At the moment I am using 7N UP-OCC interconnects with silver plugs. I would like to try silver.

This seems like a good deal to me at $89, but I'm not sure what to expect:
http://tinyurl.com/dyubvav

What do you think?

The seller notes among other things:

*  Dramatically improve clarity of tone.
*  Impression of 'speed' across the midrange becomes very noticeable.
*  Individual instruments will radiate from their own space.
*  Stabilization of the imaging capability.

On another site I've read (also words from a seller):

"Like a good well-sorted tube amp, pure silver braided cables seem to have winning ways with vocals. You'll notice improvements to the easy singing, soaring quality of vocals. This is not achieved by adding false warmth -- on the contrary the cables are neither over-warm, nor cool sounding -- they have a fantastically even-handed tonal balance, which leads to them showing improvements on all types of music. Bass is extended, powerful and fast, but without artificial bloat or lumpiness. Mid-range is clear, musical and perfectly balanced. Totally even-handed mid-range equals vocals and acoustic instruments that sound less "electronic" and more like reality. Treble extends all the way up effortlessly and exhibits natural sparkle, but is also very smooth and even, with no nasty peaks."

"(...) a system wired with these cables right through will show further increases in purity, smoothness, resolution and naturally composed, tidy, musical sound."

There seem to be customer testimonials that support these impressions.

Do you feel silver is such an improvement over copper? Or is this snake oil bogus? Would it go well with a SEX/orca set up?

If anyone can share experiences, it is more than welcome. Thank you for your input in advance.

 

[Grainger49]

I have added silver wire in the signal path in every Bottlehead kit I have built.  I think that it adds a clarity in the high frequencies that I don't get from copper. 

The reason I say "think" is that my high frequencies have dropped in sensitivity since my 20s, 40 years ago.  I have been tested.  So I think it gives a clarity to the suppressed highs I still hear.  (I'm not deaf, it just sounds quieter than it is in the highs)

But, if you have some silver wire I would try it.  Matter of fact, I have intended to make a pair for some time, using small gauge wire.  Maybe it is time?

 

[earwaxxer]

I tend to like silver, although I dont see it as a cure all. I have a pair of Silver Audio Silver Bullets 4, that I have had for many years. I have subbed them in and out and compared them to other respected names.

I agree with some of what is said in your quotes, but not all of it. What I agree with is that silver seems to not add 'false warmth', but it can sound a bit 'thin' compared to copper. If your system is bright, silver will make it worse. I find silver to be 'revealing'. I like that. It helps me fine tune my system.

With all that said, IMO, YMMV, BLA BLA BLA, I like the sound of JPS Labs wire over my silver wire. IMO, I would try to get some inexpensive examples of each and see what you think.

cheers - Eric

 

[4krow]

My vote is for silver. The reasons are almost exactly as grainger said. Years ago, I found silver to be a bit bright, but now, I find it more necc to use them. I am using the Nordost Blue Heaven and the Solar Wind. The BH heaven seems a bit more tame.

 

[earwaxxer]

One more thing.... A disclaimer I would add about interconnects, and wire in general, is that I'm talking about the budget level, affordable, real life, wire for mere mortals type of stuff.

When one gets into the the ratified air of muti-thousand dollar wire, from what I have gathered, all bets are off. I'm not there and will never be their. Those folks seem to have their own thing going on.

 

[manis]

It sounds like this is worth a try. At $89 it's not something to worry about too much and I can comfortably get to know the silver sound, if there is such a thing. Just like Eric, I can't see myself spending tons on cables either. Not in the least because something seems off plugging cables thousands of dollars worth into a $600 amp. I also dare to make the guess that, if picked right, for <$200 you can get 98% of the sound quality. For the additional 2% you will then have to incrementally splurge vast amounts of money. And I doubt I am the kind of person who can tell the difference anyway.

 

[butchbass]

Another thing you might try is replacing any gold or silver plated brass RCA plugs with copper or Tellurium copper. I replaced my speaker binding posts on my Paramours last year and  lost some highs. I made a post on Dec 12 about it.  There is a big difference in the conductivity between brass and copper, more so than between copper and silver/gold. I have not replaced my gold plated brass RCA plugs yet but it is on my "to do " list.

 

[earwaxxer]

The RCA jacks is my newest obsession. I'm thinking about these:

Shit - they're gone!
I had them bookmarked - now they're gone..
I guess I should have bought them when I could have...
Heavy silver covered copper with teflon. Audio Note. $50 bucks a pair. Not there.
Parts Connection. I'll check again..

 

[corndog71]

I've played with Kimber and Homegrownaudio silver wires over the years and find them to sound terrific.  Prices for silver jumped in a big way around 6-7 years ago and made it a bit harder to get a hold of.  Both brands also make great copper wires too and lately I've gone back to them.  One of my favorite cables are made of a 3-wire braid of Homegrownaudio cotton-wrapped wires.  They're a pain to strip but they give a great, detailed and neutral sound.  If you do a 3-wire braid be sure to use 2 wires for signal and 1 wire for ground.  HGA also sells nice RCA connectors but I hear Vampire gold-plated copper are the best.

 

[earwaxxer]

I will have to ck. into Vampire....

 

[4krow]

I have been very tempted to use the copper RCA jacks. I am also a fan of the concept that Kimber has to offer.

 

[ssssly]

If you can build a bottlehead kit, you can make your own silver cables for less and give it a try.

Upgrading your binding posts and RCAs to non-brass will likely give you a bigger bang to buck to start out with. Assuming you haven't already.

Also be weary of what RCA plugs the cheaper ebay silver cables use. No sense in paying all that money for a silver cable and then connecting it to a RCA plug that is plated brass. Would kinda be like pounding a rib-eye steak flat to get some extra tenderness out if it.

Will sound better than copper plated tin wire with a brass plug, but it will still sound like it has a brass plug.

Also for interconnects, for me, generally less is more. Using a bunch of twisted cables like that can benefit noise rejection. But often at the sacrifice of clarity. I myself prefer single twisted pair with shielding to big thick braids of wire for interconnects. 

My 2 cents for what its worth. And I am a recent silver cable convert myself.

 

[manis]

If you can build a bottlehead kit, you can make your own silver cables for less and give it a try.

Upgrading your binding posts and RCAs to non-brass will likely give you a bigger bang to buck to start out with. Assuming you haven't already.

I'm ashamed to admit I bought my amp second hand. The previous owner had it assembled at BHHQ and let go of it after a couple of months. The interconnects I use have silver plated RCA plugs. The binding posts are stock. I may check with a friend who has a soldering iron to change the binding posts to something better. Thanks for the tip. Any suggestions with regards to brands/models or what to look for?

 

[HF9]

Silver has gotten quite pricey these days, I find that the Neotech ultra pure ohno continuous cast (UPOCC) solid core copper in Teflon (PTFE) gives you a similar smooth, crisp and clear sound for much less $$. That's probably the UPOCC you have already.

Also of note, not all silver is equal. Don't get yourself jewelers wire (unless you just want to experiment). Drawn dead soft silver is what most people consider the most natural sounding and ideal for audio purposes. Different dielectrics, like cotton, can sound slightly different than Teflon too.

Despite all this, I personally prefer Cardas wire myself, nice and warm sounding. My latest Bottlehead Crack has all Cardas wire in the signal path.

Grainger, it's interesting that you noticed your high frequency perception dropping as your ears get older. We've played with an oscilloscope and dropped the frequency down from very high (25 KHz) and the older more mature people in the room were typically the last to hear the sound. My ears were actually different, I could hear up to 15kHz in one ear and 17kHz in the other. It was an interesting experiment.

 

[fishboat]

I built these 5-6 years ago:

http://www.venhaus1.com/diysilverinterconnects.html

very happy with them & no plans to change.

 

[najo49]

One thing for sure, there is not a interconnect maker one the web or in store that does not claim better clarity , blah ,blah, blah. I have Silver interconnects and the top of the line spkr cables for Clear day cables. The only way to judge is find some one who will take them back,if you do not like them. Alot will do that. I really think that is the bottom line. Then there is the problem of break in. Some if not all change with use. I feel they HAVE to sound good out of the box. Claims that they will change dramatically i think are hog wash. If they are not pleasing at first do not bother.. But I do agree they change with time, but that good. Jan Olsen

 

[earwaxxer]

I tend to agree with Jan. This 'burning in' phenomenon is real but limited IMO. I recently experimented with different resistors and didnt listen for more than 10min before I got the soldering iron back out. I also recently added these RCA sockets from HiFiCollective in the UK. Very nice quality feel to them. Heavy and solid. I like the 'sound' of them, although I'm not sure there is any sound at all to identify.