Are Silver Audiophile Speaker Cables Really Better?

Comments · 610

• ZO

  @Zoranurai13 · 6 years ago

  I actually just returned from wakanda to get some vibranium cables. They really made it sound like i was in the movie

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• GE

  @georgelewis3047 · 2 years ago (edited)

  Career metallurgist here. &nbsp;Except for one or two technical nitpiks you are absolutely correct. &nbsp;<br>There is a list of other factors that are FAR more significant than any distortions (possibly) introduced by cables, including: <br><br>(1) quality of the mixing by the record producer - no amount of HiFi can correct a bad mix; <br>(2) the room acoustics and speaker placement - frequently overlooked but a prerequisite for HiFi; <br>(3) the recording media format, which determines the quality of the audio information being carried; and <br>(4) the hearing capability of the listener -- you may have noticed that none of the old guys doing audiophile reviews ever post their most recent audiology test report! &nbsp; &nbsp;<br><br>I would love for you to devote a video to the issue of &apos;oxygen free copper&apos;. &nbsp;The reason is that &apos;pure&apos; copper (or any other metal) does not exist outside of research laboratories and maybe NASA. &nbsp;There are only degrees of purity, with oxygen being the contaminant of primary concern. &nbsp;There are three alloy designations defined by ASTM/UNS (American Society for Testing of Materials / Unified Numbering System). &nbsp;From Wikipedia: &nbsp;<br><br>(1) C10100 – also known as oxygen-free electronic (OFE). This is a 99.99% pure copper with 0.0005% oxygen content. It achieves a minimum 101% IACS conductivity rating. This copper is finished to a final form in a carefully regulated, oxygen-free environment. Silver (Ag) is considered an impurity in the OFE chemical specification. This is also the most expensive of the three grades listed here.<br>(2) C10200 – also known as oxygen-free (OF). While OF is considered oxygen-free, its conductivity rating is no better than the more common ETP grade below. It has a 0.001% oxygen content, 99.95% purity and minimum 100% IACS conductivity. For the purposes of purity percentage, silver (Ag) content is counted as copper (Cu). <br>(3) C11000 – also known as electrolytic-tough-pitch (ETP) <br><br>In short, if you want purer copper, you have to pay for it, because refining any metal or alloy to higher purity takes more processing and more energy. &nbsp;<br>Many cable sellers blithely (and probably ignorantly) claim their product is &apos;OFC&apos; or &apos;pure&apos; but they never say HOW pure. &nbsp;<br><br>How pure is pure enough for audiophiles? &nbsp;Impossible to say; for one thing it depends on other factors in the system, but it is mainly subjective. <br><br>Another issue (which personally I think is crazy) is worrying about the power cable running to the amplifier. &nbsp;You can pay thousands for a deluxe cable running from your wall plug to your electronic box. &nbsp;If pure DC from your transformer is so important then why not just insert a small DC generator? &nbsp;It might actually cost less! &nbsp;Ask any old-time welder about the joys of using a DC &apos;bullet&apos; generator, and he will tell you that none of the expensive high tech inverters of today even come close for operating smoothness. &nbsp;<br><br>Please tell me how I can contact you and maybe we can collaborate on these questions. <br><br>Cheers, and keep up the good debunking!

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• SW

  @SwirlingDragonMist · 6 years ago

  When people do listening tests between silver and copper it&apos;s important to have the same gauge and length. Since silver is expensive, it&apos;s often used in smaller gauges, which may account for allot of perceptions and opinions between the two materials. &nbsp;I&apos;ve seen several audiophile reviewers hold up a 2 &nbsp;meter cable and compare it to a 1 meter cable, they gotta be the same length. &nbsp;Length is a HUGE factor! &nbsp;go as short as you can. Also special thanks to those reviewers for at least trying and sharing their insights with the lengths they had on hand, such asymmetric data is still valuable, and appreciated.

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• BI

  @billwillard9410 · 6 years ago

  Using pretty much all Blue Jeans speaker cables and interconnects.

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• RO

  @RonLykins · 6 years ago

  Gene, &nbsp; Thanks for this vid. &nbsp; My cables of choice are BlueJeans which I have used for years. &nbsp; I like that I can get them in the exact length and different colors for interconnects. &nbsp; &nbsp;My speaker cables are BJ’s white 10 with spades. &nbsp; Spatial M3 Sapphire open baffle loudspeakers. &nbsp;Most of my interconnects, coaxial and toslink are from BlueJeans.

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• SC

  @scottyo64 · 6 years ago

  I have been using 10 gauge ofc for years, very happy with it.

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• HI

  @high16200 · 1 year ago

  Thank you for your nice views.

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• BO

  @boardertrashtv8638 · 6 years ago

  Plain old 9AWG multi strand LC OFC in single wire config for me. I don’t like to buy-wire. So glad I discovered Audioholics before buying my cables and so is my wallet, they’re perfect. The QED ref. silver plated cables I had before were expensive and over 14 gauge, I always found like I lost midrange and bass with them.

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• DI

  @diegoveloso3rd · 2 years ago

  My iem cables are silver with clear insulators handbraided by a local guy. Cost was around 40 USD. The only reason I got them was because they match my iem (Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk). Purely aesthetics

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• JA

  @jackanderson2773 · 2 years ago

  Very helpful , thanks Gene .

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• DO

  @donk1822 · 1 year ago

  As you asked Gene ;)<br>Like many other folks in the UK my first speaker cable was QED 79 strand, initially running from a cheap JVC amp to cheap Goodmans Q90 speakers, it served me through my next upgrade, Sansui AUD9 amp and Mission 720 speakers.<br>When I upgraded the Sansui to an Audiolab 8000C/8000P combo and Tannoy DC3000 speakers the salesman talked me into bi-wiring the Tannoys with Linn LK20 cable.<br>In fairness for whatever reason, maybe the link bars but the Tannoys, definitely sound more solid when bi-wired.<br>The LK20 served through my next upgrade, Audiolab 8000Q/8000M&apos;s which I still use with the DC3000&apos;s to this day.<br>About 3 years ago my wife became fed up looking at the grubby untidy Linn cables running through her living room, they were disgusting, so with her permission I swapped them for a cable you might even like, Fisual&apos;s Quad XL, a bit unwieldy but with 4 x 4.0mm OFC conductors that was expected. I had them supplied fitted with QED &nbsp;banana plugs on either end by the supplier. Bloody good value for money and much tidier.<br>Could I hear a difference, none at all which is rather what I was hoping for :).

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• LE

  @LeoneL042 · 2 years ago (edited)

  Best video about audio cables, short and very informative for me being not a technical person who loves anything about audio. New subscriber here.

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