Silver & Gold alloy cables: for or against?

Just wondered what the feelings here were regarding the use of solid-silver cable, silver-plated OFC or any of the gold alloys for use in interconnects.

Really curious to see if this forum is as split as some of the others.

John

 

I've tried solid silver, silver-plated and copper, and have found no difference in sound. Silver is narrowly the most electrically conductive of elements from copper, with gold in a slightly more distant third place (they all belong to the same group in the Periodic Table of the elements, so it's not surprising). There would therefore seem to be no point in using gold in cables, as it would diminish conductivity. Where gold stars is in its resistance to corrosion, hence the use in plugs (although that, I believe, is an alloy, as pure (24 carat) gold is too soft to withstand constant plugging and unplugging).

Therefore, in my opinion, a decent bit of copper is the way to go. By the way, never believe the guff about oxygen-free copper. The industry deliberately adds oxygen to copper destined for electrical use - to make it more conductive! (Read all about it on , for example, the Copper Development Association's website - that's the industry authority on the metal).

 

some company like siltech claim to use gold in their metal structure

 

I've built a set with odd results ie with some music they sound beyond belief and other peices exquistily bad.....not got my head round why yet.