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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 1 response by soix

soix
10,009 posts
 
In general I agree with your assessment of copper vs. silver, but it doesn't always hold. I've definately found that using silver between the source and preamp and copper between the preamp and amp preserves much of the detail and transparency of the silver while filling out the mids--kind of the best of both worlds if you're suffering using all copper or all silver(see this month's soundstage.com review of Acoustic Zen cables for an example of this if you haven't already seen it). Haven't tried it the other way, but I bet you're correct that the silver can't put back what doesn't get to it in the first place.

That said, the best copper and silver cables I've heard seem to do just about everything right, but it comes at a price. I've found mixing copper and silver at a more budget level can be a way to achieve outstanding peformance without dropping a bundle. Best of luck.

Tim
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