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Copper v. Silver IC sound

I think most would agree that there is a trend for copper IC's to give a fuller midrange at the expense of some transparency, and for silver to give a pure extended top end while sounding a bit lean elsewhere. Some people will "mix" their IC's, say, using silver from source to preamp, then copper from preamp to amp. My question is: In this example, could one "lose" the warmer midrange in the first silver run, such that it could not be "recovered" in the second copper run? Conversely, could an initial copper run "reduce" the highest frequencies, such that they would not be "available" to the silver cable during the second run?
Or, are all the frequencies always carried along equally by most silver/copper IC's, with the final "presentation" of mids versus highs determined by the last cable in the system? Obviously I need to just try the experiment, but I don't have all the cables on hand, and I'd like to hear the experience and opinion of others. Thanks.
ral

Showing 3 responses by jtinn

jtinn
1,124 posts
 
I know I will take some heat for this, but every time I introduced a silver cable or a set of silver cables in my system, I hear what I would characterize as distortion. I have a very wide bandwidth system and do not feel silver is more extended. It tends to show more as a harshness and I prefer copper. As far as transparency, I have to disagree again. I find most copper cables that I have heard to be more natural, transparent, holographic and truly more extended. I would not necessarily include the "extension" with copper cables that utilize network boxes.

Silver cables benefit SET's that generally do not have extension by adding something that is not there, the appearance of highs.

On another note, I think mixing and matching cables may be a mistake. If one uses a cable as a "tuning" device, the problem in the system is never solved, only covered up. I have attempted to mix and match and it never seems as good as a complete system wide use of a manufacturers product. I have introduced one cable for example, between a DAC and preamp and it hurt the system terribly until I replaced the cables between the preamp and amplifier. Only then did I hear the true comparisons.

Someone who has done extensive testing on the subject of copper vs. silver is Jennifer Crock of Jena Labs. You can contact her through her website, www.jenalabs.com. You can also call her and you should be able to find her number on the website.

Good Luck.
jtinn
1,124 posts
 
Jk: Thank you for avoiding flames. :)

OK, now back to the show...

Silver produces a higher quantity of quantum noise known as "Phononic Energy". In layman's terms, silver generally will produce a high frequency coloration ranging from a shimmer to outright hashiness depending on the quality of the silver. Lower purity, more hash. Higher purity, less hash, but still shimmery.

Some people just like shimmery and for some systems in need, silver may add to the quality of the acoustic illusion.
jtinn
1,124 posts
 
Argent: You are correct with your statement regarding silver and conductivity, but only in regards to DC. From my understanding, anything above DC is an entirely different stroy.

Subaruguru: Phononic Energy does not mean "LOUDNESS." It has to do with "Josephson Junctions" and would take way too much room here to explain, and, it is not really forwarding this thread. I am sure if you have a book on Quantum Physics laying around, you can find a better answer than I can give. If not, call Jack Bybee, he certainly is quite knowledgable in the field. On another note, I will always have a fondness for the Pass amps. I owned the Aleph 0 monos and some of my best listening was with them. What speakers do you use them to drive?
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