Copper v. Silver

When I use no wire at all, I don't get any sound.

The superiority of silver has more to do with the crystal structure than the fact that it is slightly more conductive. Also for designers like me that use bare wires, the oxides are less of a problem with silver than with copper. I believe that it is possible for silver and copper cables to sound essentially identical, at least when they are new and not oxidized.

Michael - how do you solder platinum wire?

Audioengr, Not sure about platinum, but...

I recently made a few prototype pure (well .999) palladium interconnects and let me tell you, the palladium took to soldering more readily than any silver or copper wire I have ever used. Low temps, very little impurities, degradations, etc... I feel this is one of the reasons palladium may become the wire of choice for ultra high-end cables, as silver was years ago. Oh yeah, I always recommend Cardas solder. Some other brands are good too, but the Cardas' flow is a DREAM to work with.

The only meaningful difference between silver and copper is that silver is about 6% less resistant, for the same gauge. Go one gauge lower (i.e., thicker) on the copper, and it's a horse apiece. (I'm speaking only about the metal here, obviously, nothing else.)