Anyone with experience having cables made using Amorphous Metals/Alloys

@audio_phool - did some reading on the amorphous metals and I am intrigued, but from what I understand, this could potentially open up a pandora’s box - it should be fun trying to figure it all out 😃

At this moment in time I have no sources for this type of conductor, but will keep it in mnd going forward.

From what I have read, they tend to be used in experinabtal or highly advacncd engineering and are yet to be used in something as mundane as wire. However, there is some articles on using them for transmission cables to mitigate tranmissions overheads, so it souls come sooner than later

But do keep an eye on Neotech cables - they seem to be ahead of the curve on metalurgy.

And thanks for providing all the info - much appreciated - Steve

@ghdprentice - yep you got it - from my web site

Dielectric Constant - what is it?
During previous developments, it was quite noticeable that selecting wires that had an insulation with a low Dielectric Constant (Dk) for the signal or live wires only resulted in improved sound quality

Dielectric Constant (Dk)…

• Dielectric constant, property of electrical insulating material (which is a dielectric) equal to the ratio of the capacitance of a capacitor filled with the given material to the capacitance of an identical capacitor in a vacuum without the dielectric material.

• PVC: Dk = 4.0
• Teflon: Dk = 2.2
• Foamed Teflon (AirLok): Dk = 1.45
• Cotton or Silk: Dk = 1.3
• Air: DK = 1.1

So what does this mean in reality

• the lower the Dk, then the noise that is generated by the signal passing through the wire is lower.
• I have compared teflon to Foamed teflon and foamed teflon to cotton and in each case the wire with the lower Dk valuse outperformed the other wire
• One of the reasons Duelund is loved by audiophiles is that the cotten insulation provides for a very detailed signal

My challenge with the Helix IMAGE DIY cables, was to get the Dk value as close to Air as possible...

• my cables use solid wire conductors
• if you put a bare solid wire inside an oversize teflon tube then the wire will only come in contact with the teflon at a single point and the rest of the wire is surounded by air
• I use a tube that has an internal diameter approximately 25-30% larger than the diameter of the wire
• the tube does not collapse around the wire - hence maintaining the air gap around most of the surface area of the wire
• I seal the end of the tube with hot glue or heat shrink to minimize the amount of tarnishing - so far after two years the wires are still very bright

And so the Helix IMAGE Air came into being!

You can apply this technique to any cable geometry and it will provide excellent clarity and details.

Hope that helps - Steve

@audio_phool - I’ve been making my own geometry cables for almost 10 years. in that time I have tried dozens of wire types/manufacturuers.

In that time I have become aware of the many factors that govern cable performance...

• Conductivity of metals - which translates to speed of propoergation of the signal
  • this coverns the dynamic performance of the metal or alloy being used
    • The best I have used to date is UP-OCC solid silver, followed by UP-OCC solid copper
  • But it also impacts the accuracy of the signal being passed down a cable,
    • this impacts clarity and details and ultimatley Image
  • Standard Copper has a conductivity rating of 1.0
  • OFC copper is a little better at 1.1
  • Solid silcer is around 1.3
  • UP-OCC copper is around 1.5
  • UP-OCC silver is around 1.7
• alloying Standard Copper with another metal having a lower conductivity rating will result in a conductivity rating less than 1.0
• alloying copper with another metal having a higher conductivity rating higher than the copper being used will result in a value somewhere between the two
  • however, mixing metals cause distortions due to the different speed of propergation of the two metals being used
  • e.g. I have found that using silver plated solid copper wire caused the clarity to be reduced, i.e. compared to a similar cable made using either pure copper only or pure silver only

Having said that, Duelund tinned copper is prefered by many because of its smooth tones, But when compared to a cables that uses UP-OCC wire, I found the duelund wire lacked the dynamic performance of the UP-OCC cables - but that is my preference

I also tried Mundorf Pure Silver and found it tp be less dynaic than UP-OCC copper

What became apparent during my various experiments was that using pure silver or copper resulted in a significantly better reproduction of the overal image, which I believe is due to the accuracy of the signal being conveyed by the left and right channels.

My Cables

• For interconncts I use Solid UP-OCC silver for the signal conductors and solid UP-OCC copper for the neutral
• For speaker cables I use solid UP-OCC cupper for the signal wires and silver palted stranded copper wire for the neutral
• For source power cables I use solid UP-OCC silver for the live and silver plated stranded mil-spec for the neutral wire and plain copper from Home Depot for the ground wire
  • I tried using UP-OCC copper for the neutral, but the cables sounded too analytical for my liking
• For amplifier power cables I use solid UP-OCC copper for the live and silver plated mil-spec for the neutral wires and plain copper from Home Depot for the ground wire
  • this has more to do with lowering costs than cable quality

Having said all of that - this hobby is all about personal preference, so I encourage you to experiment to find your own nirvana

There are many cables out there that use various alloys, so there appears to be a market out there

Take a look at this link for my cable approach

• My Audio Alchemy (image99.net)

Good luck with your quest.

Regards - Steve

@audio_phool - RE...

So have you measured the capcitance of same conductor (of same lenght, geometry, width/diameter, thickness) with different dielectric used as insulation material. I thnk thats what is making the audible differences.

Turns out, the Dieletric Constanct (Dk) of the insulation has little to do with the capacitance of the cable. The capacitance of the cable is measured between the signal conductor and the neutal conductor and is governed more by cable geometry, (e.g. number of conductors, space betwen conductors etc...)

• so, the capaciance of the cable can impact sound quality by impacting the magnitude of impacted frequncies within the audble frequency range
  • e.g. more Treble or Middle or Bass
• whereas the Dielectric Constant of the insulation governs how much noise is generated within the cable itself
  • i.e. as the signal alternates from +ve to -ve, the insulation is charged in one direction and then charged in the other direction. The switching to and fro causes noise that imapcts the signal being conveyed and reduces clarity and details
  • so clarity and details can be improved by using an insulation having a lower Dk value

I have measured the capacitance of my interconnect cable with each change in insulation material and there was little to no change in the value of its capacitance.

• certainly not enoungh to impact treble and bass response
• But the improvement in clarity and details was easy to discern as the value of DK of the insulation was reduced

Hope that makes sense? - Yep, I also had to research this aspect of cable design because I initially thought the Dk of the insulation on a wire would impact cable capacitance, but my measurements did not support those thoughts.

Regards - Steve

@audio_phool - the basics are

• if you apply a positive voltage/current through a wire, the insulation will adopt a positive charge
• if you then apply a negative voltage through that same wire, the insulation will adopt a negative charge
• but if you apply an AC signal through a wire, the continuous back and forth from +ve to -ve changes the charge in insulation but not at the exact same time as the frequency of the signal
  • the change in the charge held by the insulation lags the AC signal
    • during that time lag the signal will encounter some "resitance" due to the insulation having the opposite polarity
    • this is where the distortion creeps into the signal
    • it is very small, but discernible, even in the most basic system
    • the lower the the Dk of the insulation then the faster the polarity of the insulation will change
      • and a lower level of distortion will be achieved
• ​​​​​​​it tends to be more noticeable in the higher frequencies as opposed to the lower frequncies.

These articles may be of assistance

https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-time-is-of-the-essence-part-1/

https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-time-is-of-the-essence-part-2/

https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-time-is-of-the-essence-part-3/

I think there is another article dealing with this topic only that I will try to find

Regards - Steve

@audio_phool - this link confirms the distortion effect of insulation with high Dk

The Impact of Insulation on Wire and Cable Performance (energy5.com)

But I think there is a better article that describes the details - ill keep looking

Cheers