Silver vs Copper cables

Silver vs. copper is one of those endless debates. Some make claims that silver is be bright; if silver is done right I do not find this to be true at all. I wouldn't be as concerned with the metal as much how well the cable reacts in your system.

I think you have it backwards. Since silver is more transparent, and copper is warmer sounding, in general, copper will sound better with SS and silver will sound better with tubes. This is not an absolute, there are too many variables, just a general rule of thumb.

John

I would agree witht he previous post. Silver done right (Ridge Street Audio for example) can sound very good in the right system. I have a mixture of silver (RSAD) and copper (CRL/FIM) ICs in my system and use copper speaker cables (Alpha Core).

Not to confuse matters but there are some vendors who even have hybrid cables that mix multiple metals together. I'm trying a pair of copper/silver hybrids from Xtreme Cables now and they sound great hooked up from my preamp (tube) to amp (solid state).

This will be good.
I think I will make some popcorn and grab a beer and watch this thread. :)

Cables are witchcraft. Period.
Silver, Copper, Palladium, Carbon. Thin wire, thick wire.
Ceramic connectors, plastic connectors, plated connectors, solid connectors, gold connectors, silver connectors, copper connectors. Teflon, cotton, foam, or air insulation.
Lots more design elements...magnets, no shielding, heavy shielding.

It really does come down to what works in your system I think as stated. Try different ones from companies that allow a money back trial period.
Buy used ones that you can resell if they don't work.
Find out the generally believed characteristics of a certain cable which might suggest how it will mate in your system.
It also matters where in the chain it is placed (source>preamp; or premap out>amp).

Very generally speaking-your above example of tubes&copper and SS & silver is opposite of common thought, but it depends on the cable.

Have fun with it.