silver with tubes and copper with solid state ??


i am not one to generalize. however, a recent experience with a solid state amp has led to the hypothesis that copper cable may be a better match for solid state than silver cable, while some silver or silver-plated cable may be preferable to copper cable when using tube amplifiers.

the basis for this hypothesis is the possible emphasis in the treble from silver cable and solid state amps. thus, one peak + another peak=trouble.

what are your experiences in this regard ?
mrtennis

Showing 2 responses by mechans

JMC2 is spot on except for the silver plated copper cablew hich works in many cases quite well and is popular. That just goes to show you there is no way to know what a cable will sound like in your system until you have used it for a while in the same place.
That said it is simply true that silver is a better conductor than copper. Further my personal experience is that I didn't like silver at all in an SS system. Copper was much easier on the ears.
The real difference for me is that silver seems to be quick and can help perk up a slow system. I also use silver for a custom power cord because it is a detailed fast clean sounding cord to my CDP.
The kicker is that I use copper Cardas Golden Refs in my big tube system and silver lace from the TT to the pre all in the same set up.
There is an unwritten rule that the cabeling should really be of the same brand. I have several brands in the big rig which is all tube; Homegrwon Silver lace, Audience AU24, Cardas Golden refs, and Jena lab speaker cables, to my utter delight!!!
That's quite a coincidence I had a MF 308 for years and found it to screechy for my taste. I tried everything I could afford in cables and no matter what I used it didn't work out in my rig. I think the rig will supercede the cable. Therefore buy the cheapest rat shack stuff you can find. Then spend all the money you saved on component upgrades.