Would silver cables beat UP-OCC copper?

Yes, I have heard it all. Siver cables are about conductivity. We ARE NOT  talking about silver plated cables! If your system is good, your cables designed well they will always sound better than copper! Why do people paymore for OCC cables? BETTER CONDUCTIVITY!  Also silver has the advantage of not only being a better condutor than copper or gold, its oxidation is still highly conductive. Copper not so much. Connections. Conductivity will be better with equivalent design. I prefer silver soldered connections with silver or copper. I seal connections with liquid electrical tape on all. I seal mechanical connections as well. Oxidation is not your friend. It is all about the connections.  What do you think? I have little experience with silver coated. So far ehhh...

I'll chime in here.  Silver vs OCC Copper. is definitely a comparison, but more important is solid-core vs stranded wiring.  Solid core designs have all been superior in my testing.

As far as Silver vs OCC, it really depends on system synergy.  I used to run silver a lot a long time ago, but have since evolved away from silver.  Silver would be good if you have an incredibly warm and textured system and you need an element to compensate for a system that is too slow/warm/mushy.  However, there is a fine line where silver becomes a little too sterile.  Too much silver and the upper mids will start to shout and the sound becomes artificial. 

I just recently built and compared two AES/EBU digital cables.  Both with same Neotech gold-plated XLR connectors, braided silver-plated copper shielding.  One used 21awg OCC solid core silver, the other using 21awg OCC solid-core copper.  The silver cable came out being extremely and extraordinarily clean sounding.  However, after about 10-15 minutes of listening I came to the conclusion that it was just a very tiny bit sterile sounding in my system and did not have the texture and engagement that I wanted.  The copper, on the other hand, was very warm and textured and engaging, but did not quite have the snap and attack in the upper mids/highs. 

The OCC copper cable with Oyaide Focus 1 XLR connectors (rhodium plating over silver plating over phospher bronze) was a LOT snappier and cleaner sounding than the OCC copper with gold-plated XLR.  However, the silver plating could be a little too bright edged in the highs on some systems.

So, it really depends.

@dave_72 RE:...

Would silver cables beat UP-OCC copper?

The answer is
- it depends on the silver wire you are using and
- the resolution of your system

For example - I have used Mundorf Solid Silver with 1% gold inside cotton sleeve in my IC’s and changed to Neotech UP-OCC copper because I found it offered superior dynamics, details and imaging. It was so good that I have not considered changing it

However - you can also get UP-OCC silver, which I believe many people prefer to UP-OCC copper for it’s improved resolution capabilities

This is where the resolution of your system may be a factor - if your components cannot resolve to the same level as UP-OCC Silver then you may hear very little improvement.

Personally, I am more on the budget conscious side of this hobby, so I stopped at the UP-OCC Copper because it was so good, but others have tried UP-OCC Silver and prefer it.

Connectors can make a significant difference - I’ve found KLE Innovations Absolute Harmony to be the best to date

Insulation is another factor - insulation with a low dielectric Constant for best clarity and details - e.g.

1. - bare wire inside a Teflon tube is exceptional
2. - bare wire inside Cotton is next
3. - VH Audio UP-OCC Copper or Silver with Airlok insulation is one of the best insulated wires I have used
4. - Neotech UP-OCC copper or silver with Teflon Insulation

And definitely solid wire (as opposed to stranded wire)

Unfortunately some of the above are not an option if you are buying ready made commercially available products.

That’s why I make my own :-)

Hope that helps - Steve

@williewonka 

Is 1 (bare wire with Teflon) better than 4 (Neotech UPP-OCC copper or silver with Teflon) insulation? Just seeing if you listed these randomly or ranked them from 1 being the best, and 4 being the least best. Thanks. 

Audioquest4life 

@audioquest4life - seems to make no sense, correct?

The short answer - any wire with insulation applied directly to it is worse than bare wire in Teflon tube

But the long answer - if interested...

In a capacitor the dielectric is applied directly to a plate or foil.

In order to get a consistent capacitance every part of the plate or foil must be in contact with the dielectric

So with an insulated wire the insulation is effectively the dielectric and applied to the entire surface area of that wire

• all insulations have a specific Dielectric Constant (Dk)
• Teflon is 2.2
• Foamed Teflon (i.e. AirLok) is 1.45
• Cotton is 1.3
• Air is 1.1
• Vacuum is the base measurement at 1.0

If you use a bare wire in a Teflon tube, where the inside diameter of the tube is larger than the diameter of the wire, there will be space (i.e. AIR) around the wire and because the tube does not collapse around the wire (like cotton does) the wire only ever touches the tube in one spot.

• so the "effective Dk" of Bare wire in Teflon tube is very close to 1.1
• that’s why I rated it #1

I first realized this when I read about and tried Dulund tinned copper in Cotton/oil

• but it made no sense it sounded better than many other great wires
  
• the wire is tinned copper and I was using silver plated copper, which should have performed better.
• then I learned about Dk - and even though the Dulund had a conductor that rated lower in conductance, the insulation provided better clarity
• I then tried Bare wire in a larger Teflon tube and the results were stunning

So why does the insulation impact sound - well, I have no real hard core evidence, just what my ears tell me about the sound.

Here’s my thoughts

• A capacitor is an electrical component that draws energy from a battery and stores the energy. Inside, the terminals connect to two metal plates separated by a non-conducting substance.
• the dialectic becomes "charged"
• When "activated", a capacitor releases electricity in a tiny fraction of a second.
  
• So a wire is "equivelent to" a single plate with a dielectric applied to it
• and as the "AC signal" passes through the wire...
• in the +ve polarity part of the signal, it will charge the insulation in one direction
• when the signal changes to the -ve polarity, it charges the charge held by the insulation in the opposite direction,
• BUT the stored energy in the insulation from the +ve cycle is released.
• This release of energy interferes with the signal in the wire and you get TINY DISTORTIONS !
• reducing the Dk of the insulation reduces the amount of charge held by the insulation and consequently distortion is reduced
• With distortion reduced, you get a clearer signal
• But remember there are two channels - so with the two signals having more clarity the overall image will become more spacious and have improved focused.

As I said - these are my thoughts based on what my ears tell me

• That and $5.-- will get you a fancy millennial coffee (I hope)

Apologies for the long post, but wires and insulations get very complicated :-)

Regards - Steve