'Couldn't agree more with Tim. The danger about generalizations such as "silver is bright" or "copper is warm" is that people actually start to accept and spread this as a universal dogma. If you can't find a dealer that will let you try cables in your own system then find another dealer, they are out there. This kind of "stereotyping" of cable based on metallurgy reminds me of the BS that we brass players (trumpet) hear (and spread) constantly: silverplated trumpets sound "brighter" than goldplated trumpets, raw brass sounds warmer...etc. ad nauseum. [Far more important on sound and timbre is the GUAGE (thickness) of the metal, not the plating]. Interconnects also come in different guages, cabling patterns, with different dielectrics, etc. The PURITY of the copper or silver may be more important than the fact one is copper and the other is silver. The dielectric may actually have more effect on the sound than whether the cable is silver or copper. We have said nothing about a wire's capacitance, impedance, and inductance which have major influences on component compatibility. My own experience is similar to Tim's insofar as interconnect's having made more of a difference in most of my systems over the years than speaker cables. But I have also found that some preamps or amps are more sensitive to cable changes than others. Further, do your speakers resolve well enough to enable you to hear what changes are taking place upstream? When listening to my system, I am not listening to a cable, I am listening to how well (or not so well) all elements in the system are working together. And, if you change just one component (for example, active preamp to passive preamp) the synergy may be disrupted. That IC that was "the best cable in the world" with the active preamp may be all wrong for the passive preamp. There is no "one best cable", regardless of what any audio dealer tells you.
Copper for Solid State / Silver for Tubes ?
Was recently told a reputable cable sales person that
its best to use copper wire interconnects with a solid state
pre amp, and silver wire interconnects with a tube pre amp.
Further, that as important as interconnects are, the quality of speaker cables used will make even more of a differece in the sound than the interconnect. Is there any truth to this, or am i the only person in the hi end audio world knows this little secret ?
its best to use copper wire interconnects with a solid state
pre amp, and silver wire interconnects with a tube pre amp.
Further, that as important as interconnects are, the quality of speaker cables used will make even more of a differece in the sound than the interconnect. Is there any truth to this, or am i the only person in the hi end audio world knows this little secret ?
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- 14 posts total
- 14 posts total