How many would be surprised?

If the same rules apply to copper and silver as it does to steel thinner wire is more expensive to make than that of a heavier gauge. Steel wire starts with a common size stock and is rolled down into smaller and smaller diameters. The smaller the wire the more it has been processed and the more involved the processes become (less margin for error with smaller diameters). Given that the better copper cables are made of cast material shouldn't change the ratios much. BTW, does anyone know whether the cast wire used in audio cables is from a mold cast or continuous cast process?

Aren't thin things more easily broken than thicker things? Sorry if this post is sorta ignorant of the way things work. I know my dealer had some speaker cable he was gonna let go cheap but some of the strands had broken at the strain point when it connected to the speaker.

Don't you risk the same thing with ultra thin IC's? I mean, you gotta manipulate these suckers around all sorts of crap; some of the wires are gonna tear, right?

Not ultra thin, but Kimber PBJ is definitely on the skinny side and it used to be almost be a "standard" of sorts for low cost but decent ICs. Kimber's Silver Streak looks much like PBJ, but is silver and pretty thin. Craig

Mapleleaf: Yes they do require careful handling. One of our cats ("Eddie the Thug") has sheared the 47 Labs OTA cables (26 Gage) off of the left speaker two times so far. But most of these things are usually just installed and then only removed for periodic cleaning (of the contacts) and perhaps for the occasional audition of other cable (people used to bring wine by, now it's cables:-). I don't find it to be much of a hassle as I have always treated my heavier cables with care/caution as well. These smaller and more flexible cables (not all of them though, as it depends on the design) can also be easier to manipulate and because of this a great deal of force is not required to guide them through the maze.

Dekay and anyone else interested, the recipe for the silver cables can be found at www.soundstage.com/synergize/synergize021998.htm
Regards,