@pumpwheel - whilst I prefer silver plated connectors, I have found copper wire without any plating to provide the better sound quality when used for the signal conductors in the Helix Cables.
WRT: copper vs silver - silver has better conductivity and therefore is able to...
The difference between bare UP-OCC copper vs. bare UP-OCC silver (inside teflon tubes) tend to depend on the system components. If they have the capability of resolving to the very highest levels, then you will hear improvements with silver.
For many, the cost of silver prohibits its use for Speaker Cables and power cables and the ROI for these cables is probably less than using silver for signal wires on interconnects.
It also depends on whether an individual is hell-bent on squeezing every last drop of performance out of their system (or not)
- OR whether they can actually hear the difference in the first place.
Of all the tweaks to the Helix design, three adaptions stood out as real winners for me
So the choice really is yours - but I strongly recommend using UP-OCC silver over other "Silver wires"
Hope that helps - Steve
WRT: copper vs silver - silver has better conductivity and therefore is able to...
- provide better dynamic performance
- improved details
- a more focused image with more space
The difference between bare UP-OCC copper vs. bare UP-OCC silver (inside teflon tubes) tend to depend on the system components. If they have the capability of resolving to the very highest levels, then you will hear improvements with silver.
For many, the cost of silver prohibits its use for Speaker Cables and power cables and the ROI for these cables is probably less than using silver for signal wires on interconnects.
It also depends on whether an individual is hell-bent on squeezing every last drop of performance out of their system (or not)
- OR whether they can actually hear the difference in the first place.
Of all the tweaks to the Helix design, three adaptions stood out as real winners for me
- Using UP-OCC copper (or silver)
- adopting the "Helix Air" adaption i.e. using bare wire inside Teflon tubes for the signal wire(s)
- using two wires for the signal conductor and for the Helix Coil
So the choice really is yours - but I strongly recommend using UP-OCC silver over other "Silver wires"
- for example - The Mundorf Silver + 1% gold wire is another choice if you want a more relaxed sound
- but I found UP-OCC copper to better suite my goals.
Hope that helps - Steve