Silver-plated or single metal IC's?

it is difficult to compare brands of cable without having them in my system at the same time. usually, after a review, i will return cables as soon as possible, unless i decide to purchase them.

the element cable signature series is my reference for line cords and speaker cable. i am still searching for an interconnect.

the soundstring interconnect , 6 meter pair is my reference between preamp and amp, while one soundstring line cord is used with a dac.

i will try to make some broad statements regarding some of the cable products you mention.

i find the soundstring a bit attenuated in the treble and the deep bass. otherwise they are very rounded and listenable. the element cable -- line cords and speaker cable i find a bit warm of neutral, but not to the point of significantly affecting resolution.

the whisper cable i returned. i liked the interconnect to some extent. there were no egregious flaws, but there was a bit of noise or grain i noticed when listening to female voice. the speaker cable seemed to be a bit top heavy.

the mac cable i found very balanced, as indicated in my review. for my own enjoyment i prefer a cable somewhat less focused. for typical audiophile sensibilities, i think the MAC cable a very good value and it delivers a presentation that should satisfy many serious listeners.

i hope this helps.

currently i am auditioning a pear cable anjou interconnect, an all gold cable, an ixos cable and a whg audio design solid core copper cable.

i also have cable from a company called ear to ear, which is silver plated copper. i will be reviewing interconnect, line cords and speaker cable from that company.

there are too many generalizations. one must be an empiricist and audition many cable products before reporting such tendencies of metals or combination of metals.

forget about what was said about silver plated copper, silver and copper.

any cable can sound spectrally imbalanced and there is no way to predict in advance whether a copper cable will sound "warmer" than a silver plated copper cable, or silver cable.

have an open mind and listen to cables.

i have probably auditioned a greater variety of cable products than most people who post on this forum.

forget generic product descriptions. a cable is a cable. listen and decide what it is. the next time you audition a cable, don't ask about the wires. listen and then decide for yourself. do not be influenced by prejudices or a small sample of experiences.

Tvad,
Sorry to be so slow, I've been on location photographing a pharmaceutical plant.

Regarding your question "why" about my post (pasted below):

Everyone is forgetting one fact, you cannot have copper wrapped with Teflon. If you want Teflon surrounding copper, the copper must be silver plated.

Teflon allows oxygen to partially pass, resulting in oxidation. Too, the physical act of bonding Teflon to copper causes corrosion.

Copper oxide is a poor conductor, silver oxide is a good conductor. Silver does not react to Teflon and oxygen passing though results in silver oxide which is a better conductor than copper oxide.

There may be more to it than my short explanation, but these are the two basic reasons.

Here are a few links that cover the topic in a round about way, without resorting to the (easy to find) claims by dozens of cable manufacturers :^)

http://yarchive.net/electr/teflon.html

Printed Circuit Handbook

Permerability of Teflon to oxygen

Some thoughts.....

Silver plated copper tends to sound bright and aggressive at analog audio frequencies. It's great for digital and video because the frequency range is much higher, which means the signal primarily rides the silver layer near the skin

High purity solid copper can sound excellent

The dielectric, or lack thereof, can have a bigger effect on sound quality than the conductors themselves.

All of the very best (and most musical & not harsh or bright) cables I have heard are pure silver.

While Albert is correct about copper oxide and the potential issue of the permeability of Teflon, in my own experience taking apart 10+ year old copper cables, the actual degradation is so minuscule as to be non-existent. Even air-dielectric copper w/ Teflon tubes are ok for many, many years.