Every physician is aware of this. So is every researcher, which is why when we are trying to determine physical reality, we have to control for placebo and other effects that lie outside of the physics of the DUT.
The point about crimping, made elsewhere, is that it has has to be done precisely correctly for it to be long term reliable - such a joint, done with tools not 100% correct for the operation, with parts not 100% correctly sized, can be a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately, planes are made by people who have it strongly emphasised to them that if they get it wrong then lots of people can die, tends to be rather good motivation ... audio? ... arrhh, close enough is good enough!!
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I still don't understand how miles and miles of various types of cable (copper, aluminum, phosphor bronze, and whatnot) along with the many transformers between the power plant and the stereo have seemingly no impact on the sound quality. Apparently, it's only the last three feet of cable that matter. Perhaps I think too much... 
~Tom
~Tom
I guess i'm a bit late - it's already been mentioned here: better conductivity and the fact that silver doesn't oxidise much on air (if at all) as opposed to copper hence silver doesn't need much of insulation and as result it's construction can be different - conductor may be separated from insulation completely to remove any interaction.
My cables for example all have solid silver conductor inside tubes of much bigger diameter and are separated from it by a silk wire (little rope) so that conductor doesn't come in contact with insulation at all.
And of course conductors must be solid, not multi-stranded, that's where biggest upgrade in cables always happen.
P.S. I'm in process of building completely balanced system and anxious to see if it will remove any cable sound signatures. I'd be very happy actually
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Hi,
Spot on.
Try replacing the little rope you mention with silk thread. loosely spiralled around the conductor then put the oversized insulation over that.
Cheers,
Silk, that is perfect stuff to make a Vandergraaf generator with. It is a very triboelectric fiber. So, how does this make an interconnect better?
Or, think of those last three feet as forming part of the filter that blocks unwanted noise created or picked up anywhere through the earlier miles of electrical bits - the goal is to attentuate interference, the audio system should be isolated from nasties in the environment.I still don't understand how miles and miles of various types of cable (copper, aluminum, phosphor bronze, and whatnot) along with the many transformers between the power plant and the stereo have seemingly no impact on the sound quality. Apparently, it's only the last three feet of cable that matter. Perhaps I think too much...
~Tom
The key is a gas tight connection, using the correct lug and ratcheting crimping tool (very expensive). They're a system.
Hi,
Lower series resistance means an effective shortening of the path compared to copper.
Silver oxide still conducts relatively well so the wire does not degrade over time as quickly as copper wire.
Longer natural crystal structure than copper meaning less crystal boundaries (if that matters).
Cheers,
Silvers conductivity is less than 3% better than coppers.
If you were to use 1.5mm^2 silver cable you could spend less, get 6mm^2 copper and resistance wise things swing massively in favour of copper.
And while silver oxide is indeed a conductor the tarnish you get on silver is silver sulphate which is an insulator.
Unfortunately silver tarnishes rather quickly in my experience, much faster than copper. So that's two in favour of copper the way I see it.
Hi,
Nothing wrong with that.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81pxQMXUnNL._SL1500_.jp
Hasn't silk a slightly lower DA than cotton?
Might be hygroscopic though....
Cheers,
Nothing wrong with that.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81pxQMXUnNL._SL1500_.jp
Hasn't silk a slightly lower DA than cotton?
Might be hygroscopic though....
Cheers,
Finish first, or start last?
There's miles of plumbing between the nozzle on your garden hose and the reservoir its supply of water starts from. Does the nozzle affect the water stream?
The last 3' of cable in that miles long power circuit from power plant to your stereo is also the first three feet of cable your audio gets reconstituted from. The effects may be easy audible if it's plugged into line conditioners , variacs, or in my case, a dc blocker.
Funny that triboelectrical came up today - a buddy was so frustrated with his PS Audio regenerator, he said he was going to throw it out, or give it to me, if I wanted it.
Seems it's transformers would hum louder at 9-5pm , and an intermittent popping noise would pop out of his speakers , shorter intervals with louder transformer humming.
I said maybe the insulation is creating some triboelectrical static on the wiring next to the humming transformers , and suggested a dc blocker to filter the mains for his regenerator.
Someone at PSAudio told him it was a ridiculous hypothesis , but he tried it, and several months later, the popping and humming hasn't returned .
So he didn't give me the regenerator ; he kindly gave me a couple dc blockers, which I happily use in my system.
(It's possible I prescribed the correct medicine, while mis diagnosing the problem, of course).
This is a picture of one, double duty on turntable and phono stage dc blocking, to good effect. The R2 unit is miniature.
Apparently, it's only the last three feet of cable that matter. Perhaps I think too much...
~Tom
There's miles of plumbing between the nozzle on your garden hose and the reservoir its supply of water starts from. Does the nozzle affect the water stream?
The last 3' of cable in that miles long power circuit from power plant to your stereo is also the first three feet of cable your audio gets reconstituted from. The effects may be easy audible if it's plugged into line conditioners , variacs, or in my case, a dc blocker.
Funny that triboelectrical came up today - a buddy was so frustrated with his PS Audio regenerator, he said he was going to throw it out, or give it to me, if I wanted it.
Seems it's transformers would hum louder at 9-5pm , and an intermittent popping noise would pop out of his speakers , shorter intervals with louder transformer humming.
I said maybe the insulation is creating some triboelectrical static on the wiring next to the humming transformers , and suggested a dc blocker to filter the mains for his regenerator.
Someone at PSAudio told him it was a ridiculous hypothesis , but he tried it, and several months later, the popping and humming hasn't returned .
So he didn't give me the regenerator ; he kindly gave me a couple dc blockers, which I happily use in my system.
(It's possible I prescribed the correct medicine, while mis diagnosing the problem, of course).
This is a picture of one, double duty on turntable and phono stage dc blocking, to good effect. The R2 unit is miniature.
Attachments
So many of the subtle problems in audio are due to insufficient engineering being done, with the makers of the gear full of "attitude" about various aspects not being important - this is why diving in, and fixing up the various shortcomings can make all the difference in the final sound.
Hi,
Lower series resistance means an effective shortening of the path compared to copper.
Silver oxide still conducts relatively well so the wire does not degrade over time as quickly as copper wire.
Longer natural crystal structure than copper meaning less crystal boundaries (if that matters).
Cheers,
How...
As to crystal boundaries, no affect electrons move at 0.1mm a sec bumping into everything so a few crystal boundaries wont affect them.
Its not hard to do a good crimp, not only planes but cars and other machines that are subject to high vibration (HIGH VIBRATION) use crimps with no problems, so forming one for DIY audio (or other systems) is not hard, instead of these silly negative posts all the time TRY IT.
I guess i'm a bit late - it's already been mentioned here: better conductivity and the fact that silver doesn't oxidise much on air (if at all) as opposed to copper hence silver doesn't need much of insulation and as result it's construction can be different - conductor may be separated from insulation completely to remove any interaction.
My cables for example all have solid silver conductor inside tubes of much bigger diameter and are separated from it by a silk wire (little rope) so that conductor doesn't come in contact with insulation at all.
And of course conductors must be solid, not multi-stranded, that's where biggest upgrade in cables always happen.
P.S. I'm in process of building completely balanced system and anxious to see if it will remove any cable sound signatures. I'd be very happy actually
Any scientific evidences for this, especially single stranded vs solid core, any thing I have worked on the choice fro stranded or solid was dependent on where the wire was installed and mechanical requirements, nothing to do with signal carrying ability. How can they be different and if so proof.
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