It seems like every cable line has both metals with silver usually being the most exotic or expensive.
Has it been for you just trial and error and depending on your components what you ended up with, with one metal an overwhelming choice?
I only have copper xlrs, copper speaker cables and a pair of silver SE interconnects which I have not ever compared to others. Ignorance is bliss sometimes. And CHEAPER!
Dguitarnut.......I have been through some cables over the years. Way back when, there was the proverbial Monster cables, then came Mogami cables, Cable Solution Canare cables, then Cardas, Kimber, Tributaries, and now Wireworld. It wasn't until I used the Tributaries Silver series interconnects that I entered the realm of silver plated copper cables. That was a turning point where I recognized a welcomed improvement in upper midrange clarity. It was also the first time I was committed to all of my interconnects being from the same manufacturer and of the same type cables. I enjoyed the Tributaries Silver Series cables and felt they represented a great ratio of cost versus performance. I still use the Tributaries Silver Series cables in my home theater setup.
I have now moved to a full cable loom of Wireworld in the studio system, including power cords. I use the Silver Eclipse balanced interconnects, Silver Eclipse Speaker cables, Silver Electra power cords, and Silver Starlight digital cables. This level of Wireworld cable encompasses silver plated OCC copper combined with Wireworld's patented cable configuration. When I originally compared Wireworld cable to Tributaries Silver Series I was impressed with an overall improvement from bass texture, midrange resolution, air around instruments and voices, and a refreshing clarity to the upper frequency range, all without any glare. My initial experimentation comparing Wireworld to Tributaries ultimately led to a complete redo of my studio cabling. Once complete in the studio I did the same thing for my living room system with quite similar performance advantages. The living room system is cabled in Wireworld Silver Eclipse balanced interconnects, Silver Electra power cords, and Silver Starlight digital cable. The only exception is my living room speaker cables which remain Kimber 8TC. This is because my speaker cable runs are 38' each, going up inside the walls, across the attic, then down walls to the speaker locations. The length of the wire runs made the cost of Silver Eclipse speaker cable prohibitive, plus the physical size and shape of the Silver Eclipse speaker cable would have made it nearly impossible to run in the walls to the attic and back down where the speakers are located.
My experience in my systems has proven to my ears that copper can be very good but silver plated OCC copper offers improved resolution. I haven't changed a single cable in these two systems in over five years.
