Differences between cable sound.

Elizabeth, love the answer. The cable question again. I've been around here a long time and I tried explaining to him what I thought and maybe I didn't know the right words for a newbie. Explaining PRAT, sibilance, brightness, zing on the top end, loss of the low end and the list goes on. And you know, I looked in the archives but I wanted to get answers on one thread so I could point him to it. Maybe other newbies might find it interesting too. Being from Wisconsin also and going through the fiasco of Braun got me thinking of helping my friend. Bring the info on my friends!

Bossman

i own copper, silver and gold cables. all copper cables do not sound the same. this is true of silver and gold.

one cannot specify a "generic" sound for any metal. one must evaluate the cable on its own merits.

i bet i could fool some golden ears by presenting a gold, silver and copper interconnect and asking the listener to specify the metal.

i bet there would be many errors made.

Who makes a gold cable?

I agree with MR Tennis, in that the same metal cable can sound very differently. As has been said many times before much of this is component and system dependent. In my specific case with my systems over the years I`ve found good quality silver to be the more natural and less colored with superior transparency and tone.Brightness and edge weren`t an issue at all.Yes,YMMV.
Regards,

I feel like silver needs a defender here and of course, it's just IMO:

Use the right insulation (teflon or ?) and geometry and silver is the best.

Silver is a better conductor than copper, copper is better that gold. (fact not opinion). I'd describe it as an honest cable (done right). If you have a system that you would like to tame some brightness in, silver may not be the best choice but not because it's bright, it just hides less.

A good silver cable will cost A LOT more. I'd put it near the top of the diminishing return scale...money usually better spent elsewhere.

fwiw, I use silver interconnects and speaker wires everywhere now (CJ preamps, Pass amps, SET amps, Magnepans etc). The biggest surprise came when I had a vintage Marantz 18 receiver (very early ss) and needed some speaker wire to hook it up. I had an extra 8' set of silver/teflon but didn't want to use an "honest" cable on old ss. I did and the result was a sweeter sound. I still haven't figured that one out but I don't argue with my ears. I learned long ago it's fruitless, they win every time.