Silver-plated or single metal IC's?

gentlemen:

i have reviewed many cable products. some of my reviews included cables wihich use silver coated copper. others were pure copper and one was gold.

there are no generalizations that are meaningful. all copper cables do not have common sonic attributes. read my reviews. one cannot necessarily distinguish a copper cable from a silver coated copper cable to a pure silver cable.

there are many factors beide metals which affect the performance of cables. i have noticed characteristics of silver, i.e., upeer mid/lower treble coloration as well as lower mid dips. but i also have experienced the affect of replacing the connector, e.g., rhodium-plate with a brass connector where conductors were silver coated copper.

the idea is to listen and not generalize.

any statement regarding silver plate vs all silver is purely hypothetical.

by the way, my latest review is on audiophilia.com, namely the MAC products.

Copper good..silver bad. Gold connections good...silver bad. Try before you buy at The Cable Co....ask for Robert Stein, mention Dave Borda. Over time, copper and Gold will sound like music..if you know what that is like...some people don't!!

Thanks Mrtennis, nice succinct review:

How did the MAC products specifically compare to those listed in your system: Maple Audio Whisper, Soundstring Audio, & Element Cable?

I just upgraded to silver interconnects(not plated) from copper (PSC+) and find the silver much better. They are more detailed with better defined frequency extensions and very smooth and revealing. Certainly not bright or harsh in any manner. Can't comment on plated.

Chuck

Something to consider: Silver Plated Copper was never developed for hi fidelity home audio. It was originally developed for harsh environment applications.

I believe it began to be popular for audio back in the '80s when at least one company I'm aware of saw an opportunity to sell "silver" cables more competitively by promoting their silver plated copper as "...silver cables" - pretty misleading. Not sure if that company is around anymore.

Silver plated copper exacerbates the skin effect phenomena and usually sounds kind of "zipper" to my ears. I suppose that can work to advantage if one is stuck with an overly warm system.

Really, in my view, copper plated silver would offer a better balance sonically but then that introduces other problems.

Simply plating silver over copper does not give the "best of both worlds" as some might conclude. There's more at play than just trying to combine the perceived virtues of silver and copper.

In my opinion and experience, high purity silver (done right) or a high purity copper will have a better tonal balance compared to silver plated copper.

Ah....forget it. I'm probably all screwed up. ;)

Happy Holidays!

Robert
RSAD