Looking for RCA cables from preamp to amp?

hsbrock

... From the research I can do, copper has higher/better conductivity than gold, silver, or aluminum ...

Silver has higher conductivity (lower resistance) than copper, gold or aluminum.

What is better than pure copper?

Define "better." Utilities almost always use aluminum wire for electric distribution because it’s relatively cheap and it’s lightweight. So aluminum could be argued as "better" for that purpose.

But the natural laws of physics - and the Table of Elements - dictate that copper wire is simply a commodity - no ands, ifs or buts.

Opinion stated as fact. You seem to think all copper is of equal quality.

@hsbrock Check out OCC wire, it is a means to make a strand of copper even better by changing the crystalline structure of the metal. The ‘better’ part is opinion of course, but OCC and the single crystal structure is real.

@hsbrock If what you said was true then all copper cables would pretty much sound the same, and they clearly do not.  Things like geometry, solid core vs. stranded, dielectric, etc. all make a significant difference, and as mentioned silver is a better conductor than copper so not sure where you read the opposite.  Just listen to some different copper cables/interconnects  and you’ll realize there’s a lot more to it than just connectors, purity, and shielding.  This place is littered with people who once thought cables are just wire and can’t possibly make much difference to being shocked at how much difference they can make.  So minimize the impact cables can have at your own risk — better to just use your own ears and make judgements from there.

@cleeds  you are absolutely correct that silver has better conductivity than copper, it would be nice if others did some homework before posting misinformation.

Here are a few technical references to cable materials and constructions. I haven’t read them in a while. I’m just pulling them from my list of references that I put together a few years ago. I am looking for one that details the microcapacitor nature of copper and silver and how it differentially retards different frequencies. No luck so far.

https://resources.system-analysis.cadence.com/blog/msa2021-how-signals-propagate-in-unbounded-conductive-media

http://boson.physics.sc.edu/~kunchur/papers/Audibility-of-cable-pathways--Kunchur.pdf

https://www.qed.co.uk/qed-genesis-report

http://pspatialaudio.com/cables.htm