Silver Wire

If I decide to build my crossovers from scratch, with new components, then I might use the silver stuff there, too. 

Thanks for the info, guys. I plan to solder everything inside the boxes - I can't see using expensive plugs and sockets (which might come loose anyway) and I certainly won't use cheap spade lugs, either. So soldering seems the only way to go. 

I understand that the normal method with interconnects, and components too, is to change one thing out at a time with extended listening sessions in between, but with internal speaker wiring, I think I'll try it all at once. I was going to use a heavier gauge for the woofers, especially if I go the bi-amping route, but now I think I'll use the same gauge for everything. The only question I have now is what kind of wire. For now, I'll leave the crossovers in copper. It's a lot of work to re-do them. 

Understood. You are providing good info for the OP to use and decide on his own. Always worthwhile to do so in my opinion. But I think there needs to be a bit more detail wrt the 12 gauge experiment, in particular the size and shape of the wire and quality of the connection. You did write " I wasn't too thrilled about using the disconnects" but you didn't explain. Not a big deal, but the OP should know quite a bit more before putting that information to use. My opinion.

Anyhow, good posts. I am also considering re-wiring everything I can if I think inductance in particular can be lowered significantly in any of my runs (inside or out of components). But let's be clear on something ... it wasn't my logic being stated in my post. Though I'd love to take credit for it, I believe Misters Faraday, Oersted, Ampere and Henry (to name a few) were a little more influential toward that end.

hazyj------Perhaps the lower resistance/inductance is a major factor in the improved sound of the doubled-up silver-clad 16 gauge wire vs the single run of the 18 gauge Anti-cables wire but this same 18 gauge wire was quite a bit better than the 12 gauge Anti-cables using the Radio Shack disconnects so......  According to your logic, running tripled runs of the 18 gauge Anti-cables wire should sound better than the silver-clad copper?  Maybe, I really don't know.  I'm just reporting on what I heard and the circumstances.  I know that doubling-up on this wire in my interconnects sounds quite a bit better than the pair built using single runs.  The doubled-up interconnects have more body through the mids on down and the bass has more weight and impact.  I don't know the why's of it.  I'm just offering my experience, hopefully allowing others to bypass some of the hassles I've endured in my search for audio satisfaction. 

As to why I would think this improvement of sound is due to the silver....  Maybe not.   But good silver has tended to sound similar in my experience.  The Ridge Street Audio Poiema!!! and the Granite Audio 470 were more alike than different and quite a ways from the Quattro Fil in sound.  I recall Electra Glides silver ribbon speaker cable having those qualities as well.  Those being a solid and well defined bottom end, a more revealing mid band than most copper or gold cables, probably being more neutral in this area than either, and a more open and airy top end.  Images have tended to be more well defined though I have to admit the Quattro Fil was the equal to any of the silver interconnects in this regard.  What can I say then?  It just seems that good silver has typically had these sounds in my systems so I'll assume this to be the sound of the silver.  YMMV.

lcherepkai -

Maybe I'm not following you, but it seems you've replaced 18 gauge with "doubled-up twisted runs" of 16 gauge wire and you noticed a difference. It seems you've proven that this lower resistance and likely lower inductance has improved the sound of your speakers. Why would you think it's because of the Silver?

J

Greetings Dragunski---

    I have a pair of DIY speakers that are similar to Legacy Focus in design.  The builder used stranded copper wire and they sounded quite good that way.  I re-wired them internally with the heavy gauge Anti-cables speaker cable using Radio Shack disconnects and this sounded better but I wasn't too thrilled about using the disconnects so I acquired 18 gauge wire from Anti-cables and crimped them onto the crossovers and drivers directly and this sounded much better; more transparent with greater detail and the soundstage was more distinct---image outlines were sharper and both lateral and front-to-back imaging improved. 

    I then acquired some vintage silver clad copper wire of about 16 gauge and this wire has been used in my interconnects, power cords, and speaker cables and it's excellent.  I happily sold my interconnects (Ridge Street Audio Poiema !!!, Granite Audio 470, and Nordost Quattro Fil) as well as several power cords (too many to list).  I've re-wired these speakers with this wire in doubled-up twisted runs (still only crimped on----I'm not to fond of commitments) and the upgrade from the 18 gauge Anti-cables is highly apparent.  First, the bass is much more solid, no bloat whatsoever and with texture that the other wires never even hinted at.  The top has air and ambiance that was also missing though I hadn't thought it so until I installed the silver wire.  And there is a presence or "there-ness"  that just sounds more real than through any of the other wires.  So, I can say that silver CAN sound much better than copper but it will depend.  If you're concerned about the top end becoming bright, then perhaps the Mundorf silver/gold wire would be a better option.  I don't know about its authenticity but I can vouch for the sound quality of the Mundorf 1mm wire sold on Ebay through Taiwan.  I've used it for power cords (4 runs per pole using the excellent Iego 8095 rhodium plated silver plugs) and am having a pair of interconnects built presently.  Hope this helps and good luck.

Some speaker manufacturers use silver wire in their speakers, such as Tannoy, which also uses silver plated copper wire.

I expect to have to learn to solder at higher temperatures. And to use heat sinking near heat-sensitive components on the crossover.

I'd expect the silver wire to have less resistance than the copper, but measuring first is not a bad idea.  

dragu- I realize I misread your question a bit, but maybe i lucked out by still answering a related question. sorry.  i'll revise a bit ...

If I was doing what you're doing, i wouldn't care if it's copper or silver. I'd go with the wire that has the best of the electrical properties mentioned above. That would include the quality of the soldering. Also, if it was me i'd try to keep the gauge the same or bigger (if not too cumbersome) and if possible go with a wire geometry that might lower inductance significantly while keeping capacitance within reason.

First, you need to know how to remove solder and resolder well enough to proceed.

I won't answer your question directly, because mine will be just another opinion. I will say you can't disregard the quality of the wire you're replacing. You want to be very careful not to replace wire with worse electrical properties than what you replace (e.g. resistance, capacitance and inductance). I'd strongly suggest you measure each wire you remove for all these properties and not replace them with anything that has worse values of these properties. What is worse? That might be a separate thread. We'll see.