Imo, IF it is pure silver it will be fine. Jewelers often use sterling or other alloys, they are not so good usually. Of course you will be getting (presumably) solid core wire, which may or may not be annealed, so be careful about that. That means the silver could be hard or soft... probably soft though... also I have personally found the subjective impression of solid care silver, indeed all silver wire, to be rather different than copper, and definitely different than a litz construction copper wire... imho, fyi, and ymmv of course. 
_-_-bear
PS. what sort of price did you get?
PPS. I prefer much heavier gauge wire on my tweeters... and for internal speaker wiring in general, again ymmv.
_-_-bear
PS. what sort of price did you get?
PPS. I prefer much heavier gauge wire on my tweeters... and for internal speaker wiring in general, again ymmv.
i got it for $8 per meter, in China. It's reliable that it should be 99.9% silver, though. the gauge for the tweeter circuit was chosen not by me but the cardas website, though I can't find it atm.
do you think doubling up 1mm wires will be enough? I too am iffy about using just single strand of it.
do you think doubling up 1mm wires will be enough? I too am iffy about using just single strand of it.
From China, or you are in China??
Not sure what you mean, except maybe Cardas suggests this gauge??
I don't know from metric diameters, only US wire gauges... but my experience with tweeters and wire gauges is that oddly enough thinner wire makes the tweeter sound well, ummm, thinner? I'm not sure and don't have a good theory on it, but there it is... everyone can go try that for themselves, measure, listen and decide.
I guess that depending on the lengths involved and the ultimate quality of the speaker, the drivers and the supporting system that some experimentation might be in order to see what the subjective result is... for example is there an audible difference between two paralleled uninsulated strands and two paralleled insulated strands, how about twisted? Etc...
_-_-
Not sure what you mean, except maybe Cardas suggests this gauge??
I don't know from metric diameters, only US wire gauges... but my experience with tweeters and wire gauges is that oddly enough thinner wire makes the tweeter sound well, ummm, thinner? I'm not sure and don't have a good theory on it, but there it is... everyone can go try that for themselves, measure, listen and decide.
I guess that depending on the lengths involved and the ultimate quality of the speaker, the drivers and the supporting system that some experimentation might be in order to see what the subjective result is... for example is there an audible difference between two paralleled uninsulated strands and two paralleled insulated strands, how about twisted? Etc...
_-_-
The amount of current determines the cross-section of any wire. Bigger diameter wire will have less internal resistance for a similar length.
Of course there is a lot of debate about AC characteristics of larger diameter wire. I won't go into that.
And all branded wire begins life as generic wire unless there is a substanial modification or proprietary process. If the purity is reliable, I suspect if should be as good.
Of course there is a lot of debate about AC characteristics of larger diameter wire. I won't go into that.
And all branded wire begins life as generic wire unless there is a substanial modification or proprietary process. If the purity is reliable, I suspect if should be as good.
From China, or you are in China??
_-_-
If I buy it in China doesn't it automatically make it from China also? Yes, I'm in China.
I compared the Cardas (bare) silver wire to jeweller's wire. I specified pure silver for one set (.99 vs. Cardas .999) and can hear absolutely no difference either when used as an interconnect (single strand) or as tweeter wire (two strands).
I also use a specific alloy that is less than sterling but not pure silver, and it doesn't do very well at high currents but is fantastic for interconnects - comparing very favourably to a $500 brand-name interconnect (if you believe in that sort of thing).
I also use a specific alloy that is less than sterling but not pure silver, and it doesn't do very well at high currents but is fantastic for interconnects - comparing very favourably to a $500 brand-name interconnect (if you believe in that sort of thing).
Regarding silver tweeter wire
The only time I have ever seen silver wire in industrial use was in the twin preamps for a Tektronics tube scope that were good to 40Mhz -- way beyond audio and with extremely low signal levels that may have been affected by the added resistance in copper wire. (These were tube preamps with 12AU7s specifically matched by Tektronics.)
Since the audio bandwidth is so much narrower - especially for the tweeter - and the power output to the tweeter is so much higher, I personally doubt that one could hear anything different using copper in lieu of silver, much less the difference between 99.9% and beyond.
In sum, it strikes me as an odd place to bother with it.
I am sure someone will disagree and claim that they subjectively hear the difference, but you may not be able to find an objective demonstration of added performance on sophisticated test equipment.
The only time I have ever seen silver wire in industrial use was in the twin preamps for a Tektronics tube scope that were good to 40Mhz -- way beyond audio and with extremely low signal levels that may have been affected by the added resistance in copper wire. (These were tube preamps with 12AU7s specifically matched by Tektronics.)
Since the audio bandwidth is so much narrower - especially for the tweeter - and the power output to the tweeter is so much higher, I personally doubt that one could hear anything different using copper in lieu of silver, much less the difference between 99.9% and beyond.
In sum, it strikes me as an odd place to bother with it.
I am sure someone will disagree and claim that they subjectively hear the difference, but you may not be able to find an objective demonstration of added performance on sophisticated test equipment.
Interesting thread. I was looking at trying some stuff from this website wires.co.uk - specialist in craft wire, knitted craft wire, silver wire, enamelled copper, resistance wires, stainless steel, plated wires and many more!
They do all sorts of wires at reasonable cost compared to 'hi-$nd' resellers.
I like the look of the silk covered silver and the silver plated copper trial pack with all the different AWG's
They do all sorts of wires at reasonable cost compared to 'hi-$nd' resellers.
I like the look of the silk covered silver and the silver plated copper trial pack with all the different AWG's
The difference between wire is pretty audible on a system with sufficiently low "bad harmonics" and sufficiently low "good" harmonic distortion... try it sometime... Loopy, fwiw...
You can also try merely changing gauges of the same type and construction wire going to your tweeter and see if you hear that or not... Then swap out stranded vs. solid... see if that has any difference. Who knows? Maybe you will hear it, maybe not.
It's fairly obvious in many situations.
Silver vs. copper? It can be heard in sibilance and in things like a cymbal splash... try it sometime...
_-_-bear
You can also try merely changing gauges of the same type and construction wire going to your tweeter and see if you hear that or not... Then swap out stranded vs. solid... see if that has any difference. Who knows? Maybe you will hear it, maybe not.
It's fairly obvious in many situations.
Silver vs. copper? It can be heard in sibilance and in things like a cymbal splash... try it sometime...
_-_-bear
I would not use copper foil for speaker cables, but you may if you wish.. .
Nor would I use foil for interconnects... you may if you wish
Should you lay the foil on top of itself you have a major capacitance issue... but I digress, since this is about silver solid core wire...
And, it's pretty easy to break foil, even when laid up between some mylar tape...
Myself, I use this stuff : SILVER LIGHTNING INTERCONNECT
Of course I am very biased, since I know the fellow who makes this cable very well...
_-_-bear
Nor would I use foil for interconnects... you may if you wish
Should you lay the foil on top of itself you have a major capacitance issue... but I digress, since this is about silver solid core wire...
And, it's pretty easy to break foil, even when laid up between some mylar tape...
Myself, I use this stuff : SILVER LIGHTNING INTERCONNECT
Of course I am very biased, since I know the fellow who makes this cable very well...
_-_-bear
I have bought some "0.71mm DOUBLE SILK COVERED SILVER 99.99%" wire from wires.co.uk and found it very good as a speaker cable. I impregnated it with flaxseed oil (which took a couple of days) and terminated with some silver banana plugs from Hong Kong (eBay).
I was previously using rather thick Ecosse cables in tri-wiring. I put them in my parts box for the time I was testing the silver cables and ...never took them out again. A single run of these thin silver cables outperformed them by quite some margin. Music is much easier to listen to, especially trebles are very pleasing (although at first they seemed slightly rolled off). There isn't any gain with regard to detail, but the listening experience is so much better - more pleasant, natural, relaxed, but with ravishing rhythm and drive.
I was previously using rather thick Ecosse cables in tri-wiring. I put them in my parts box for the time I was testing the silver cables and ...never took them out again. A single run of these thin silver cables outperformed them by quite some margin. Music is much easier to listen to, especially trebles are very pleasing (although at first they seemed slightly rolled off). There isn't any gain with regard to detail, but the listening experience is so much better - more pleasant, natural, relaxed, but with ravishing rhythm and drive.
Glad to hear Wires.co.uk is a quality source
Flaxseed oil
Not heard of doing that before. Whats the thought behind doing that?
flaxseed oil is not airtight and does not prevent oxidation
some have claimed it to "regulate" moisture positively
and maybe also lowers ressonance
silver turns black to protect itself against oxidation, and thats it
sound is said to become more "mellow" after that
some like that, some dont
with very good speakers, I think that is what you want
transparence and clarity are the keywords
for best result heat treatment is suggested, to make the silver softer
I dont know how its done
with regards to hardening, copper is opposite steel
copper turns soft when cooled down fast
maybe its the same way with silver
but easy to test
btw, link to the UK supplier is really great info
some have claimed it to "regulate" moisture positively
and maybe also lowers ressonance
silver turns black to protect itself against oxidation, and thats it
sound is said to become more "mellow" after that
some like that, some dont
with very good speakers, I think that is what you want
transparence and clarity are the keywords
for best result heat treatment is suggested, to make the silver softer
I dont know how its done
with regards to hardening, copper is opposite steel
copper turns soft when cooled down fast
maybe its the same way with silver
but easy to test
btw, link to the UK supplier is really great info
Actually, the black is silver sulfide, not so good. Turns out that silver oxide is silver colored!
I too thought the black was silver oxide, but I have been schooled that it is not.
Again, I would think it is to limit oxidation, or else I would use highly clarified and purified snake oil instead...
_-_-bear
I too thought the black was silver oxide, but I have been schooled that it is not.
Again, I would think it is to limit oxidation, or else I would use highly clarified and purified snake oil instead...
_-_-bear
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