Serious Question About Silver vs Copper Conductivity for Power

@holmz 

I never said there was silver magic, nor did I imply it.  That is an erroneous and rather offensive stereotype that I don't appreciate.

I don't deny my lack of knowledge.  However, I have decades of experience.  You may see that as baseless testimony with no "facts" to back it up, but no one will have those facts.

As to the information you were unable to find:

"Breakthrough Power Cord Technology

Palladian looks significantly different than other high-end power cables. That's because of its breakthrough technology resulting from thousands of hours of research at Kimber's well-equipped laboratory.

Kimber's engineers developed a special SWR (standing wave ratio) enhancement technology, which dampens electrical standing wave reflections. This proprietary technology has permitted the creation of an AC power cable of unmatched clarity, silence and freedom from grain."

A simple google search on "Kimber Palladian Standing Wave Ratio" will find multiple sites with this blurb. Even though it is for an earlier model, the tech never changed, only the look.

And the information regarding dynamic transient current delivery can be found here:

There is no article for how the rectifier and capacitor system worked because that was a discussion I had with technical support at Shunyata Research about their equipment and cables.

If I am wrong, fine, I am wrong.  The results are all I care about.  No harm in wanting to understand WHY I have those results.

I’m not going to dive into whether one sounds better than the other, but from a physics point of view a six foot silver or copper pc the same gage has no electrical differences at 120 volts at 60 hz.

+

and going from 14 ga to 12 ga is much less resistance than a 6% boost in going to silver from copper - in terms of conductivity.

And back to the earlier physics…
The teflon insulation actually cuts the speed proportional to the dielectric. So the field propagation along the cord is delayed more as the teflon, or whatever’s dielectric constant goes up.

Does that make a difference? Probably not… but a copper wire with no insulator is faster than a copper wire with teflon and/or a silver wire with a teflon jacket.
Faster by a few nanoseconds.

@gs5556 

That is precisely why a discussion in cable theory won't help. I have already had this disccusion with one electrical engineer who tried to use math to determine what the electrical capabilities were of the 8awg cable vs the powered speaker that was using it and he didn't understand why I needed such a cable.  Well, that's because there is always a variance in the spec of any device.  Manufacturers will give you the basic cables that guarantee function, but that doesn't mean a more robust cable won't cause the device to perform better.

There are no tools for measuring sound quality except the human ear and that tool is subjective.

I never said there was silver magic, nor did I imply it. That is an erroneous and rather offensive stereotype that I don’t appreciate.

Correct, but you said that Silver conducts 7% faster than copper.

I understand that silver conducts 7% faster than copper

And also that the teflon keeps it from overheating.

Both those statements are erroneous.

It is also a fact that Silver is touted as having magical qualities by many manufacturers that sell it. Gold is actually 3rd behind silver and then copper in conductivity, but it also has a magical allure.

I don’t deny my lack of knowledge. However, I have decades of experience. You may see that as baseless testimony with no "facts" to back it up, but no one will have those facts

it is not your lack of knowledge that is the problem, it is that much of this gear is marketed with magical properties and stories which are laden in golden eared testimonials. Some/most cables do not even list the specs! At least Kimber provides some specs for the speaker cables (4TC and 13TC at least), so they are up the list a ways in comparison.

Without some provable facts it is difficult to understand whether they work or what they do. I would usually prefer to put the funds into a piece of gear that is more immune to needing a cable in the first place.
If the manufacturer says that “brand-X” cable is what they recommend than that is at least a good start.

Without that we are left with listening tests, and experience.

There are no tools for measuring sound quality except the human ear and that tool is subjective.

Ask your EE friend if he could measure the voltage of the power supply output. If so, then he would then have a way to show whether or not it was dropping down and a “faster cable” might help fill it better.
See what he says.

if the power supply output is rock solid, then I cannot imagine any way that a cable could help… but more noise would be worse.
He will know what is means, and could give you some insight.

yes i believe the first reply by @cleeds nails it