Shugg, you might borrow a pair of good interconnects, spend a few weeks listening, then replace with an el-cheapo variety. You probably will hear a difference. What value you place on any difference you hear is your point of decision.
Oxidized copper, copper oxide, is an insulator. More highly oxygenated copper probably is noisier than the more oxygen free variety on the theory that pockets of copper oxide create noise-inducing boundary and diode effects. Silver does not similarly suffer the fate of oxygen as silver oxide is a conductor.
A second, audible factor influencing the sound (ie, the electrical behaviour) of cables, in my opinion, are dielectric effects of the surrounding insulation. Dielectric effects are undesirable because they introduce into the wire spurious electrical signals and phase anomalies at a level dependent, generally speaking, on the dielectric constant of the insulating substance. Teflon is the generally preferred insulator because it has a lower DC and therefore lower inherent levels of dielectric absorption etc. Air is the best dielectric but contains .... oxygen.
The highly regarded Nordost cables use silver surrounded by a mostly air (oxygen-free?) dielectric.
Oxidized copper, copper oxide, is an insulator. More highly oxygenated copper probably is noisier than the more oxygen free variety on the theory that pockets of copper oxide create noise-inducing boundary and diode effects. Silver does not similarly suffer the fate of oxygen as silver oxide is a conductor.
A second, audible factor influencing the sound (ie, the electrical behaviour) of cables, in my opinion, are dielectric effects of the surrounding insulation. Dielectric effects are undesirable because they introduce into the wire spurious electrical signals and phase anomalies at a level dependent, generally speaking, on the dielectric constant of the insulating substance. Teflon is the generally preferred insulator because it has a lower DC and therefore lower inherent levels of dielectric absorption etc. Air is the best dielectric but contains .... oxygen.
The highly regarded Nordost cables use silver surrounded by a mostly air (oxygen-free?) dielectric.
Actually, copper oxide is a semiconductor - read diode - and it's rectifying effect on the signal is what causes all the problems, noise as well as loss of detail. Silver doesn't oxidize at room temperature; the tarnish you are seeing is a silver-sulphur compound that is nearly as conductive as silver and has little if any effect on the signal. You should always try to use oxygen-free copper at the least on anything you are going to put a lot of work into building and OCC copper or silver would be even better.
You can always find high quality well-made interconnects on eBay for pennies on the dollar, German eBay in particular.
John
Hi,
You could also try cotton sleeving as an insulator which has even better properties than PTFE (even extruded) from a DA pov and has good mechanical damping to boot.
Regarding silver: I have bare silver wire lying around at the office for about 10 years, unprotected from airborne contaminants.
It hardly shows any sign of tarnishing at all.
Cheers,
You could also try cotton sleeving as an insulator which has even better properties than PTFE (even extruded) from a DA pov and has good mechanical damping to boot.
Regarding silver: I have bare silver wire lying around at the office for about 10 years, unprotected from airborne contaminants.
It hardly shows any sign of tarnishing at all.
Cheers,
I think that using a coated wire would give you a little more flexibility in trying different configurations. I like braided ofc similar to Kimber myself - easy, elegant and effective.
Braided cotton or silk (like Frank suggests) over coated silver wire is a good way of making up your own interconnects.
John
ISTR the minute amounts (<100ppm) of oxygen in the common brew of copper (wire, water pipes, etc.) is there to improve both electrical and mechanical characteristics. *IMPROVE*.
This reminds me, I should go grab some of that stainless lockwire and make some cables and stuff. (some 10 times more resistive than copper!) Bet it'll make my speakers really sing.
Tim
This reminds me, I should go grab some of that stainless lockwire and make some cables and stuff. (some 10 times more resistive than copper!) Bet it'll make my speakers really sing.
Tim
fdegrove said:
That's still open to question.
The figure for cotton seems to come from the same big-*** list of dielectric constants that's floating around on dozens of websites out there.
I don't think the 1.3-1.4 figure holds except in its fluffy, cotton ball form and that in the textile form where the fibers are more closely packed, the figure would be higher.
The figures I've seen from textile industry sources put it in the 3+ range. This seems to make sense given that cotton is pretty much pure cellulose and in the same table the dielectric constant for cellulose is specified at 3.2-7.5.
Seems the only way for cotton to achieve 1.3-1.4 is if there's a hell of a lot more air than cotton fibers as would be the case in its cotton ball form.
Of course even if cotton's dielectric constant were significantly higher than 1.3-1.4 that doesn't necessarily mean it will sound bad, except perhaps to those so singularly obsessed with technical specs.
se
Can't resist.... are you going to "burn" the cables in first before a serious listening session?
I find a decent fine copper strand "zip cord" type works as good as any. No reason for anything over 16GA unless you are pounding over 100W through them. Generally that type of wire is very flexible & easy to work with.
Everything else is audio jewlery.
-Chris
I find a decent fine copper strand "zip cord" type works as good as any. No reason for anything over 16GA unless you are pounding over 100W through them. Generally that type of wire is very flexible & easy to work with.
Everything else is audio jewlery.
-Chris
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