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Serious Question About Silver vs Copper Conductivity for Power

Yes, I realize that this topic is going to bring out the sharks, but if I get at least one serious response, it will all be worth it.

I understand that silver conducts 7% faster than copper.  I also understand that using a dielectric insulation like Teflon is best at keeping the wire from overheating, stopping signals entering and stopping signals from leaving the conductor. I understand that a certain amount of math is involved in selected gauge of wire depending largely on how much power the component is going to take, and how much the amperage is (20 or 15).

My question is regarding certain features applied to either silver or copper conductors that may or may not have an advantage over one or the other.

I have the Kimber Kable P14 Palladian.  This uses 14awg copper conductors insulated in Teflon.  Then it adds a massive filter that attempts to mitigate the standing wave ratio to as close to 1:1 as possible. I had Kimber’s Ascent power cable prior.  It’s identical to the Palladian, except the filter. I have heard the difference between using those two cables.  Apparently, mitigating the standing wave ratio lowers the noise floor significantly. However, any filter that chokes the signal and will slow the electrical current.

As I understand it, the amplifier works by opening the rectifier to allow the capacitors to fill with energy that the system will draw from.  Being able to keep the rectifier open and fill the capacitors as fast as possible, reducing lag time, has the effect of creating more realistic and detailed sound.

With that said, changing to a power cable that uses pure silver insulated in Teflon, will ensure that power is delivered potentially faster.  Although, the silver power cable will NOT have a filter.  Therefore the standing wave ratio will not be mitigated and the electrical signal will not be choked either.

So, would the amplifier benefit from faster electrical current or slower, but cleaner electric current?  Since this signal isn’t directly applied to sound, the concepts of “colder” or “warmer” sound should not apply.

Can someone help me out without poking fun at the question?  Additionally, I am not interested in having a cable-theory debate.  If you don’t believe cables make any difference, I will not debate or have discourse on that topic.

 

guakus
vonhelmholtz
911 posts
 

One side listens and compares and the other decides based on their understanding of science, but the scientific method involves testing your hypothesis and based on results you refine your hypothesis.  Sure there are snake oil salesmen and some unwarranted prices, but there is a huge chasm between cable design doesn't make a difference and it always makes a difference.  I've spent a lot of money on cables and power.  I only keep what I perceive as making a difference.  Call me an idiot, but that gets us nowhere and you have to ask yourself when calling me an idiot, how was I smart enough to earn the money to pay for the cables.  I guess that next, you will say that I'm privileged, or a thief.  I propose that rather than go to this extreme, listen to a really good system and then put in your zip cord and listen again

 

guakus's avatar
guakus OP
352 posts
 

@vonhelmholtz


My question isn’t a hypothesis nor does it require faith in "magic" cables. It is based on science, despite the haranguing being heaped on me.

The question can be boiled down to:

Does the lowered resistance of silver improve amp performance over filtered copper?


If one doesn’t believe cables make a difference, need not attempt to answer the question because by default they are unable to.

As for the criticism of word choice on "faster" electrical conductivity, consider this: "Silver is sometimes thought to be the best conductor because its electrons can move faster than other elements—which is attributed to the polarity of crystals and their structure."

Source:

 

czarivey
5,946 posts
 

when it comes to power cords for audio applications, non-conducting materials are far more important than conducting materials. regardless, the discussion may continue to derive further nonsense and go on...

guakus's avatar
guakus OP
352 posts
 

@czarivey 

I disagree.  I have seen the most prolific changes in audio by upgrading the power end of the system.  Mileage may vary.

jea48
4,709 posts
 

@guakus ,

I don’t know if a difference in sound can be heard, from say a power amp, whether the conductors of a power cord are copper or silver. (Interconnects and speaker cables, are a different story.)

Things that can make a difference in a power cord:

The wire gauge used for the conductors.

Solid core or stranded wire conductors.

Geometry, how the cable is made.

Shielding.... Can be good and can be bad. Depends on the application, the equipment it is used to feed.

The type and quality of the connectors used.

 

As for the speed of current through a conductor, in a circuit. It’s travel is very slow. As slow as molasses.

 

You may find these exchanges of some interest.

 

kijanki’s avatar
kijanki
4,284 posts

2x200W amp might take from mains close to 1kW during peaks. The problem is that peak supply current won’t be expected 8A, but rather close to 40A. It is because current is drawn only for very short time (millisecond pulse) at the peak of full wave rectified sinewave. It applies to most of LPS. Power delivered with such short pulses not only creates larger voltage drops in house wiring, but also heat-up amp’s power transformer, that has to be oversized (higher copper losses and higher core losses for eddy currents and hysteresis).

 

jea48
3,875 posts
 

@kijanki

+1

 

Please explain what happens if the power transformer’s secondary winding voltage is lower feeding the rectifier, due to a quick AC mains VD event, and the electrolytic capacitors voltage is higher. Just going from memory the rectifier will not conduct and the caps do not get recharged for that "(millisecond pulse)" in time.

 

Jim

 

kijanki’s avatar
kijanki
4,284 posts

@jea48 You are right - there will be no current thru rectifiers until capacitor voltage will drop below rectifier supplied peak voltage. Theoretically it is possible to build LPS where capacitors keep average instead of peak voltage, but it requires huge inductor in series (in order of Henries) made with thick wire and AFAIK nobody is doing it. One problem is lower rail voltage (average instead of peak) while the other is dependency on the load current.

http://www.r-type.org/articles/art-144.htm

 

 Circuit wire gauge size matters.

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