Interconnects Copper Or Silver

[jcmusic]

In your opinion which cable do you prefer and why?

[dogscanskate]

in my system, i prefer copper ic's. otoh, i never liked silver ic's ( in my listening room )as i found them harsh in the high frequencies. i feel copper ic's are warmer sounding and have smoother highs. but that's in my system of course, which is a bit on the bright side in a horribly bright, square room. i'm still trying to find the best combination but it's a PITA.

btw, i do own some silver ic's and haven't given up on them. if i had a better room, my opinion could easily change of course. still trial and error :(

[Mister Pig]

There is so much that goes into creating a good cable. Saying copper or silver is just over simplifying things. Things like dialectric, stranded vs solid core vs litz, shielded or unshielded, cable geometry, high or low capactiance, and a host of other things must be considered. There are good and bad examples of silver or copper, or silver coated copper cables.

The best silver cables I have owned were TG Audio's
The best copper had been the Tara Labs Air 3
But I have heard great examples of silver coated copper. Such as the Audience AU 24, or the Chord Odessey II.

I have a full set of the Audio Magic Extreme cables on their way. I will be writing a review on them for Affordable Audio. The ic's are pure silver, and the speaker wire are copper coated silver. As are the power cords. We will see if they can offer a high level of performance for the buck.

Regards
Mister Pig

[GaryP]

IMHO, it is very system dependant.

I have two systems that I use - and the wires give me a different sound in each system.

Generally speaking, for me, in my systems and using my ears ( ;) ), copper can sound warm, reproduce a full low end and good, life-like mid range but could lack in resolution (clarity - they could sound muddy) and lack some high end. Silver has great highs, great resolution but can have a 'thin' mid range and lack a full low end.

Of course, even different copper cables can sound different.... so it all depends on system matching - and what pleases you.

[jcmusic]

Gary,
What kind of systems do you have? and which wire do you use in which system?

[GaryP]

Main system: McIntosh MX110 and MC240 (tube pre and tube amp), Sony XA777ES CDP, Oracle MKII TT and Fountainhead speakers (by Unity Audio). The speakers are bi-wireable so I have Anti Cables running to low & mid / high input and Grover SR (silver reference) going to the mid / high. The best of both worlds. Interconnects vary... Right now I have a set of silver / copper hand made by a local stereo store and a set of Switzer interconnects (1960's or 1970's vintage all copper). I am expecting three sets of Grover UR7 interconnects to arrive. They are a silver / copper combination where the silver is positive and the return is negative.

House: Dynaco PAS4 pre, NAD2140 amp, Sony CE775 (5 disc changer). Speakers: Tangent TM1's, Tangent RS6's and Kef Calinda's. Speaker wire: CAT 5 telephone cable to the 2 pair of remote speakers, Silver Sonic to the close speakers. Interconnects: Grover SR II and Grover SR I.

I've sold off some wire such as Kimber speaker cable and a Kimber interconnect set. Selling my last pair of Kimber interconnects now. I've also sold off (and given away, actually!) a lot of extra stereo equipment. Still have a Carver magnetic field amp hanging around! I should do somethng with it....

Still have wire in reserve. Ever hear of Lindsay-Geyer interconnects? Neat stuff (with wooden RCA plugs!). Sound pretty good, too. I believe they are made of nickle wire.

Sorry for rambling.....

[jcmusic]

No problem with the ramblin, I have never heard of those ic's you are talking about. I am just trying to get a feel for what some of us are using as wire and for what. Tubes SS. I have a new SET intergrated amp coming in next week, and decided i need some new wire. don't want touse the SS wire.

[Charivari]

Generally speaking, for me, in my systems and using my ears ( ;) ), copper can sound warm, reproduce a full low end and good, life-like mid range but could lack in resolution (clarity - they could sound muddy) and lack some high end. Silver has great highs, great resolution but can have a 'thin' mid range and lack a full low end.
The comparisons between these two materials has left me wondering, not that I'll likely be able to afford the better cable regardless in the near future. Were the gauges of the Cu and Ag wires equal? Most silver interconnects/speaker wires I've seen tend to be on the small size while copper tends to be larger (mostly as a function of cost, I should think). However, smaller gauge wire does seem to create similar sonic effects as you've noted in your comparison. I guess I'm asking whether you're confident that you were hearing the difference in materials vs. just gauge size and overall construction quality.

In case there's confusion, this is a genuine inquiry and not a troll or anything of the like. Just looking for an answer to a question I've had for a while.

- JP

[Trawlerman]

I use silver cables throughout. Nordost Red Dawns from DAC to Pre and then again from Pre to Powers. QED Genesis speaker cables.

I don't find them to be harsh at all. But then again I chose my components to have a balanced sound. Often people upgrade to silver thinking it will give them a better sound and it does, it brings out the natural sound of the components that they are connected to and that is all too often on side of bright.

[GaryP]

The comparisons between these two materials has left me wondering, not that I'll likely be able to afford the better cable regardless in the near future. Were the gauges of the Cu and Ag wires equal? Most silver interconnects/speaker wires I've seen tend to be on the small size while copper tends to be larger (mostly as a function of cost, I should think). However, smaller gauge wire does seem to create similar sonic effects as you've noted in your comparison. I guess I'm asking whether you're confident that you were hearing the difference in materials vs. just gauge size and overall construction quality.

Can I give you two answers? ;)

Short answer:

I don't know.

Long answer:

I have no idea what the gauges of the Cu and Ag wires are. I don't think it has much to do with cost. I'm pretty sure that in my interconnects the silver is very, very thin and the copper is multi stranded. Grover will not reveal his "formula" (obviously) and is actually having it patented. He has a group of 'audiophile testers' that give him feedback on his latest revisions. He's up to Grover UR7's now.

The quality of the silver counts, too. There was a 'bad batch' of silver once and he had to replace some interconnects.

I think it 'all counts' - the materials and construction mix. But it's not "stout" construction, meaning that it won't hold down an elephant. The Grovers are very delicate - you can easily crush the silver foil by stepping on the interconnect. You must pull off the Grover by the RCA plug!

I hope you signed up for the "in your house" cable demo!

[GaryP]

Incidentally, I recently (well - last year) bought some Monster speaker cable (which is multi strand copper) and later on I bought Anti Cables (which are a solid copper cable with a very thin but tough coating). Man, there is a world of difference on my system between the two - the Anti Cables are just sooo much better!

So that's a copper to copper comparison for you.... but the Anti Cables cost $10.00 a foot (per pair). A little more than Monster costs!

[jcmusic]

Got a link for the speaker cables?

[GaryP]

Sure.

http://www.zeroimpedance.com/products.html

I think there's a money back guarantee....IIRC. Check & make sure.

If you get them, let me know what you think!

[WhiteSE]

Main system: McIntosh MX110 and MC240 (tube pre and tube amp), Sony XA777ES CDP, Oracle MKII TT...

That is a nice rig! :tresbon: