After experimenting with lots of different material in circuits, I thought I'd share some feedback I've noticed over time regarding the use of silver in audio. It is the most conductive metal, with an International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS) conductivity rating of around 106% compared to annealed copper which has a conductivity of 100% (IACS). The first thing to know about using it is that it tarnishes when exposed to air. This means that it is best utilized internally -behind wire insulation and within capacitors (for instance). Because of this, I don't recommend using any silver externally- such as a plating material on cable connectors or on AC plugs, as it will form a dull tarnish on the outer layer over time by reacting with sulphur and chlorine in the atmosphere which will gradually diminish conductivity and fidelity and require constant de-oxidizing to maintain its highest level of performance. The more you de-oxidize any silver externally, the quicker it appears to re-tarnish again in the future. Also, any corresponding jack metal plating that receives/ accepts a silver connector into it will become corroded and also require cleaning due to galvanic corrosion, where the corresponding (non-silver) plating material often gets eaten away by it -as seen on gold and nickel plated RCA jacks on the back of equipment for instance. For these reasons, silver connectors and plugs can become a cancer or liability to your equipment and its jacks; when it is visible to you externally and exposed to air. Combining/mating dissimilar metals exposed to air using silver as one of the two metals is not a good idea.
With that out of the way, what are some of the benefits of using silver appropriately/ when it is hidden or sealed inside other material? It adds definition and clarity with an added lightness and speed to the sound. Musical presentation becomes more effortless as observed from things such as instantly reproducing more realistic sounding crescendos while maintaining a higher level of musical separation between all instruments and their placement within a soundfield. Soundstage is improved with silver and it adds more depth, space, and dimensionality to the sound. It improves dynamic range while improving the overall performance ceiling to a higher level. It is better able to reproduce very small details in recordings you may not have heard before -most especially noticed in the HF range. It is less forgiving, and will highlight artifacts or limitations in the original recordings and equipment that was used to record the source material, such as tape hiss on older, analog recordings, or more noticeable crunchiness and grit to low-resolution, digital aliased synthesizer sounds. This means that the quality of sound heard going from song to song will have more variability in its presentation than heard before. It doesn't "gloss over" anything. You hear everything on the recording that wasn't noticed before. This can sometimes be observed going from song to song within the same album, but is even more noticeable when listening to two completely different types of recordings one right after the other. I noticed volume levels going from one track to another may sound higher and lower than they did before -i.e. the complete absence of any "loudness normalization". Listening to a really old, poor recording can make your heart skip a beat and will have you questioning whether something is suddenly wrong with the sound of your system. Then, play a high resolution track right afterwards and suddenly be blown away by how much different, better, and more defined it sounds than you've ever heard it before.
These effects can be observed and introduced even using a small amount of silver. You don't have to convert everything to all-silver to hear these differences or notice them. Some cheaper components claiming they contain "silver" that isn't, but is instead some type of cheap, silvery looking alloy, can lead to a brittle sound that is harsh and edgy. Real silver sounds more detailed from top to bottom and doesn't hurt your ears. Silver can take a system beyond 100% of what had already been maximized about it before through careful component and material selection. It provides an additional boost to performance that cannot be achieved otherwise -without using some silver, somewhere. This is not to say everything sounds limited or bad without it, absolutely not. In fact, you'd never notice anything "off" with the sound of anything that isn't using any silver. But using it can take performance to a higher level that couldn't otherwise be achieved before. If you are someone who likes listening to the details, or the very small technical nuances in a recording (including any source limitations), then adding some silver to your system (somehow) could be right for you.
What are some ways to introduce silver into your system in targeted ways that I've found? Pure silver wire, silver-plated copper wire (can be implemented within equipment as internal wiring, or as external cabling/ wiring), silver mica capacitors, mkp capacitors using silver in their construction. Also, since silver is considered a very high-end conductor, what you'll find is that materials that use silver will also use higher quality film insulators/ dielectrics where applicable, such as polypropylene and teflon in cables/ wire and film capacitors. When you improve to silver, you also typically improve to better performing films with lower dielectric values (dielectric constant, dielectric absorption, dielectric loss) and lower dissipation factors. This often leads to a doubling-down of the performance effect that is realized when switching over to something with silver in it, as better performing films go hand in hand with the added performance of using silver -namely in their reduced interaction, leeching/ smearing effect, energy lost as heat, loss of signal, and their inability to hold a charge/ absence of capacitive effects of a conductor passing through them.
With that out of the way, what are some of the benefits of using silver appropriately/ when it is hidden or sealed inside other material? It adds definition and clarity with an added lightness and speed to the sound. Musical presentation becomes more effortless as observed from things such as instantly reproducing more realistic sounding crescendos while maintaining a higher level of musical separation between all instruments and their placement within a soundfield. Soundstage is improved with silver and it adds more depth, space, and dimensionality to the sound. It improves dynamic range while improving the overall performance ceiling to a higher level. It is better able to reproduce very small details in recordings you may not have heard before -most especially noticed in the HF range. It is less forgiving, and will highlight artifacts or limitations in the original recordings and equipment that was used to record the source material, such as tape hiss on older, analog recordings, or more noticeable crunchiness and grit to low-resolution, digital aliased synthesizer sounds. This means that the quality of sound heard going from song to song will have more variability in its presentation than heard before. It doesn't "gloss over" anything. You hear everything on the recording that wasn't noticed before. This can sometimes be observed going from song to song within the same album, but is even more noticeable when listening to two completely different types of recordings one right after the other. I noticed volume levels going from one track to another may sound higher and lower than they did before -i.e. the complete absence of any "loudness normalization". Listening to a really old, poor recording can make your heart skip a beat and will have you questioning whether something is suddenly wrong with the sound of your system. Then, play a high resolution track right afterwards and suddenly be blown away by how much different, better, and more defined it sounds than you've ever heard it before.
These effects can be observed and introduced even using a small amount of silver. You don't have to convert everything to all-silver to hear these differences or notice them. Some cheaper components claiming they contain "silver" that isn't, but is instead some type of cheap, silvery looking alloy, can lead to a brittle sound that is harsh and edgy. Real silver sounds more detailed from top to bottom and doesn't hurt your ears. Silver can take a system beyond 100% of what had already been maximized about it before through careful component and material selection. It provides an additional boost to performance that cannot be achieved otherwise -without using some silver, somewhere. This is not to say everything sounds limited or bad without it, absolutely not. In fact, you'd never notice anything "off" with the sound of anything that isn't using any silver. But using it can take performance to a higher level that couldn't otherwise be achieved before. If you are someone who likes listening to the details, or the very small technical nuances in a recording (including any source limitations), then adding some silver to your system (somehow) could be right for you.
What are some ways to introduce silver into your system in targeted ways that I've found? Pure silver wire, silver-plated copper wire (can be implemented within equipment as internal wiring, or as external cabling/ wiring), silver mica capacitors, mkp capacitors using silver in their construction. Also, since silver is considered a very high-end conductor, what you'll find is that materials that use silver will also use higher quality film insulators/ dielectrics where applicable, such as polypropylene and teflon in cables/ wire and film capacitors. When you improve to silver, you also typically improve to better performing films with lower dielectric values (dielectric constant, dielectric absorption, dielectric loss) and lower dissipation factors. This often leads to a doubling-down of the performance effect that is realized when switching over to something with silver in it, as better performing films go hand in hand with the added performance of using silver -namely in their reduced interaction, leeching/ smearing effect, energy lost as heat, loss of signal, and their inability to hold a charge/ absence of capacitive effects of a conductor passing through them.
