Some years ago I did a comparison on DIY power cords using the following as internal wire:
- #1 - Using cheap crap Radio Shack 20 awg solid-core copper conductors with PVC insulation (multiple wires to make a 14 awg power cord).
- #2 - Using high grade Furutech 14awg STRANDED OCC Copper power cable.
Listening tests revealed that the Furutech OCC copper provided a much higher resolution sound.
The power cord using cheap Radio Shack solid-core conductors did not have good high frequency resolution and overall sound was not quite as crisp and clear....BUT .. the Radio Shack solid core just sounded so much more natural when compared to the Furutech stranded OCC. The Radio Shack solid core has better mid-bass and midrange body. The Furutech had that low-end "Hi-Fi" type of sound and just did not sound as natural or real. If these were my only choices, it would be the crap Radio Shack wire because it was just so much more pleasant and enjoyable to listen to.
noromance's comment stating "solid core is cleaner, less confused when music is busy, and yields blacker internote spaces" is definitely a characteristic here as well.
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When comparing OFC to OCC in general, the OFC wire can sometimes be a bit harsher sounding and there is definitely a loss of resolution with OFC. Think of OFC wire as 1000 male-to-female and female-to-male plug adapters between the source and target. An OCC wire would be like having 3-5 adapters between source and target. The loss and harshness from surface contact on 1000 connections is what you get with OFC.
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There are some comments on silver interconnects. I have gotten to the point where I don’t like silver or silver-plated conductors for anything relating to analog waveforms (i.e. power cord, interconnects, speaker cable). However, all of my components are all high-resolution revealing. A solid-core silver cable could do well if your components are on the warm side.
BUT, I have found that solid-core silver is absolutely excellent for digital cables (i.e. AES/EBU or HDMI or something). The copper digital cables are on the warm side and don’t have as much resolution. Though, it is a balancing act and system synergy definitely comes into play here.