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Pure silver wire: solid, stranded or Litz wire?

I have quite a long experience in using pure solid silver wires in my DIY cables. Overall I am very happy with the results but I always enjoy trying out different things. After having tried a few types of solid silver I ended up with OCC. Not so much because of the claims about 6N-7N purity and mono crystal nature but because it simply sounds at least as good (but probably much better) than the standard 99.99% silver, it is much easier to work with and it is immune to corrosion. These are my observations and not claims by the various suppliers.
However, I am interested in trying out a stranded or Litz version of this silver (or any other type of silver that may be available at reasonable prices? Anyone with experience on it? Positives & negatives?

Regarding the stranded pure silver I do not see many benefits other than flexibility. I am also not impressed by the idea that many bare silver wires are in constant contact with each other. On the other hand Litz silver wires (individually insulated cores braided/twisted together forming a sigle conductors with an outer insulation)seem to be the ideal situation. However, they do not seem to be widely available?
I have come accross Litz type silver only in the case of internal tonearm wires (i.e. Audionote)but at very small sizes and very high prices.
Other than this some online research only came up with very limited sources about larger sizes (HGC and audionote). I have collected a few relevant direct links from different suppliers if anyone is interested but I am not sure if I am allowed to post them in the forums.

Anyway, in terms of Litz style wire, it appears that there is the usual Litz of very fine coated/enamelled cores or a simpler form with larger cores (but less in number)threaded in tiny teflon tubes of the same size before they are tightly twisted together. The second seemed quite an attractive option. It is much cheaper than the first Litz option, more flexible than solid wires, and the little Teflon tubes offer better insulation than a few coatings can do. It also offer improvements in terms of skin effect, ringing, while adds to the overall surcace area of the conductor without the need to use larger sizes.

Any ideas about known suppliers of such wires? Anyone has personal experience?
aber23
audioquest4life
772 posts
 
I like your DIY approach. What do you think about this company as a source for your DIY projects?

http://www.tempoelectric.com/cables.htm#aurum

I am thinking about getting some silver IC's with WBT AG's, for long interconnects. I am also exploring the DIY route for IC's between the phono and preamp.

Thanks for keeping us informed about your progress.

Ciao,
Audioquest4life
aber23 OP
16 posts
 
Regarding the enquiry about Tempo-electric. I do respect the fact that they have offered so much information on DIY. Their non-commercial partner (I think) website

http://www.laventure.net/tourist/index.html is also a great source of information.

Their prices on DIY materials (i.e. silver, teflon etc) are good but still quite expensive if you intend to use such materials on a regular basis. Ideally you should try to buy them from manufacturers or specialized distributors / resellers that you trust.

The problem in purchasing directly from the sourse (or close to it) is that most materials are not specifically created for the purpose you need them. So you may have to try samples from different sources untill you find the most suitable. By purchasing these materials from somewhere like Tempo Electric you can be a lot more confident on their quality and suitability.

Personally, I prefer purchasing from the source but this has resulted to spending a lot of time and often being dissapointed.
okkie300
13 posts
 
Hi Aber23 Well it is a lot better than the original d501 and as the std.SME cable.But it is silver so it depends on your equipment.But it is not too clear.I had always VDH cables The Revelation speakercable and Thunderline interlinks.that is a good combination however i am now playing with Cardas,[see my question can you help?]Rik
aber23 OP
16 posts
 
I have just ordered some silver Litz wires by Audio Note at different sizes so next weekend I will attempt to built some interconnects and make a few comparissons.

Some interesting information about their silver Litz wires can be found here: http://www.audionote.co.uk/comp/cables.shtml

I would really like to find out if the sound my short DIY Litz interconnects deliver is a common feature of any good silver Litz wire or the result of other parameters. So I hope to be able to test a few different silver LITZ cables.

Thank you Rik for your comment on the silver D501. It is similar to comments I heard from others as well regarding this cable.

About your question on cardas hexlink golden 5c I am afraid that I am not sure if there is a correct way to match the conductors. I would simply match them in a convenient colour coded way making sure that it is the same at both ends. I guess that the best thing to do is contact Cardas (or an experienced Cardas dealer) directly with your enquiry.
aber23 OP
16 posts
 
Well, some time passed and I did experiment with lots and lots of Litz wires. I bought what I could afford for DIY and borrowed some Litz phono cables whenever possible. Without getting into too much detail, I was slightly disappointed by the results. In the beginning the ideas behind Litz wire construction and my experience with my handmade cable gave me the impression that Litz equals to the best result you can get. I was very wrong, and I am not sure why. Some wires (like the audionote sounded good) but most of them were missing the “sparkle” of silver one can get from many solid and even bare stranded wires. I just get the impression that the very thin strands in the conductors are over-dampened by their coatings. I guess there is some effect of the insulation on the strands which I like in some copper cables (like Cardas) but on silver, where I expect speed, clarity and detail to a large extend such an effect was quite undesirable. Still trying to figure out what made that initial handmade Litz so special. Thinking of getting a ready-made Litz cable from the same guy and see if it could keep up with my initial impression. Anyone has any further thoughts about Litz wires?
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