Silver-plated or single metal IC's?

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.

Purist Venustas cables I had were never bright or aggressive and they are silver plated copper. In fact, they were a bit too muddy in the lower midrange/upper bass area and not fast enough for my new speakers that I had to switch to all silver. Not that I needed aggressiveness, but the Purist's were too warm.

Dennis, perfect example of how cables plated with Silver are not necessarily bright. Purist is indeed neutral to warm tonal balance and if your system is already neutral to warm it may not be the best match.

Thanks folks. And Leica man, wow what a memory. I'd forgotten my own post!
I'm in Australia, and most audio stores here sell stuff prepackaged. There's a few places that are serious about their hifi, so I will try to follow my own advice and find some silver cables to listen to.

Most of what any of us say is baloney at the end of the day. You must try before you buy...and try alot for an extended period of time..as in day or weeks if possible. One last comment on silver cables however...ever been to Boston Symphony Hall? The sound is rich, warm, textured and sparkling like fine china (not broken dollar store glass). The live sound envelopes you with layers of auditory colors and tones..bass huge and deep, mids gloriously robust and full with power...smoothness is an understatement. Silver cables or flat line cables do not sound like music...closer to nails on a chalk board perhaps!