sivler interconnect

Mrtennis, you state:

i believe there is a character to silver cables which is identifiable...

How would you describe those characteristics? Are they consistent when using either tube or SS amplification??

the character of silver cable i detect is an analytic quality. it creates timbral inaccuracy where instruments do not sound real. also, bad recordings sound very bad.

its like listening to music under a magnifying glass.

the overall effect is to make listening to music annoying except for the very best recordings.

There are too many variables in cable design and your system, that will affect the sound notcieably, so any general statements about silver or copper would be deemed worthless...
Please describe your components (including current cabling) and what your thoughts are on their sound. Perhaps you tried some other cables and have some impressions how they worked in your system. It would be useful to tell a little bit about your taste in sound attributes that you value the most. Some people are bass freaks, some want extreme reproduction of ultrasound to drive their dog away... Some just like it "hot"... All this information would give other readers a lot more clues as to what actual commercial or DIY cables might "fix" your problem, assuming it is a cable issue in the first place. Sometimes it's just a wrong component...

I and lots of others disagree heartily with Mrtennis's characterisation of silver-conductor cable (SCC). While the sound of SCC is as variable as many cables made of copper conductors, in fact, other factors being equal, silver is a slightly superior conductor and cable made from it will sound cleaner and less characterful* than copper-made cable. In the 2 careful (and exhausting for me, as I'm no GEA and I have to WORK to hear subtle differences) comparisons of IC I've done, SCC has sounded cleaner, more transparent, than copper-conductor cable. I have solid-SCC throughout my system; my system does NOT sound timbrally inaccurate, instruments do NOT sound unreal, bad recordings do NOT sound worse (they simply sound the way they sound), and the sound of my system is not at all annoying. In fact the sound of my all-silver-cabled system continues to improve, and it's the best-sounding system I've ever had. (I'll not comment on Mrtennis's use of the term 'analytical', as I have no idea what that means.)

PS Audio is now selling its new Xtreme Resolution ICs. The 2 cables are apparently identical except that Reference is made with VERY-high-quality copper and Transcendant with silver conductors; see http://www.psaudio.com/products/xstream_resolution_audio_overview.asp . Read what JerryS of 10Audio.com has to say about them here http://www.10audio.com/psaud_ref_trans.htm .

Personally, I don't choose IC or speaker cable on how it 'sounds', so I don't look for a 'warm' or any-other-sounding cable. My goal is cable that has no sound...no character...of its own. If your system sounds a little thin, I suggest you replace or retune whatever components are creating that lack of richness. In my experience, it's almost always the speakers and/or room.

* and, after all, most of us want our cable to have NO character whatever.

I use AZ Silver Ref MkII from source to pre and Matrix Ref MkII from pre to amp. This achieves a nice balance of resolution and warmth. However, using 2 Silver Ref cables, I personally would not recommend. But if you want warm, yet detailed, consider AZ Matrix Ref MkII. Hybrid copper/silver interconnect. If you find that to be splashy, which I doubt, try some Audioquest cables, like Jaguar or Panther. Little darker sounding, but if you like that, these'll do. Good luck.