DIY RCA cables - pure silver vs silver coated copper

[Stryder5]

To be fair Geoff, I referred to Mylar Foil (as in metalised Mylar) so my comments stand

A statement that says one thing and means another, Mylar (made by DuPont) foil is not a product. Metallised Mylar is. The product is not a foil, it's a polyester film.

By very definition a foil consists of very thin metal, Mylar cannot be a foil.

[anthonyTD]

Well, my own findings and experiments with cable construction over the years [and I have tried' and made many] mostly point to the connectors having the biggest affect between like for like cable types.
A...

[Macca]

My view is that cables can change the sound, usually subtly, and I agree that the equipment they connect has an effect on this. One size will not fit all, and this is why some rave about a certain interconnect and others, having tried it in their system, dismiss it as 'poor'. I don't think this is any scientific mystery, I just think that we are more sensitive to small differences in LCR than ''science' claims we are. It isn't like there are Universities conducting ongoing research into this as no-one outside of audioland gives a monkey's. So it isn't wise to place too much faith in textbook explanations.

There is no methodology to working out what cable is best or a given set-up except for suck it and see, and that is my advice to the o/p.

It is annoying because there is no way of knowing before hand if a cable change will merit an improvement or not. And no-one has the time or money to try every cable to find the best for their particular application so you could be using sub-optimal cables and never know. But if it sounds right then why tinker further? There are other much more effective ways to improve the sound of your system, do them first.

[Infinitely Baffled]

ideally there should be as little plug socket connection as possible, as they are yet another form of switch
involving audio signals passing from one surface to another.

I didn't know this!

So, then it is in principle better to use banana plugs - with their bowed-sprung pins - for loudspeaker connections than to seek out expensive plugs which claim to enable a greater pin contact area within the socket?
IB

[Stryder5]

I didn't know this!

So, then it is in principle better to use banana plugs - with their bowed-sprung pins - for loudspeaker connections than to seek out expensive plugs which claim to enable a greater pin contact area within the socket?
IB

There are many different types of banana plugs, I use BFA plugs, as they look to have a better contact area.

Only my opinion tho.

[struth]

Good contact area is best with plugs imv. Cannot see a reason for otherwise

[Reffc]

A statement that says one thing and means another, Mylar (made by DuPont) foil is not a product. Metallised Mylar is. The product is not a foil, it's a polyester film.

By very definition a foil consists of very thin metal, Mylar cannot be a foil.

Pedantry. "Mylar Foil" has for some time been a common usage term (irrespective of technical accuracy) to describe metalised Mylar (polyester) films. You and everyone reading this knew exactly what was being referred to so lets leave it at that

Well, my own findings and experiments with cable construction over the years [and I have tried' and made many] mostly point to the connectors having the biggest affect between like for like cable types.
A...

I agree Anthony that connectors can indeed make a difference, as can the cable geometry, particularly with respect to things like shielding and cable capacitance when it comes to passing a signal from a MM cartridge to a phono stage for example. Any changes in sound will obviously be very kit (circuit) dependant

[Stryder5]

Pedantry. "Mylar Foil" has for some time been a common usage term (irrespective of technical accuracy) to describe metalised Mylar (polyester) films. You and everyone reading this knew exactly what was being referred to so lets leave it at that




I agree Anthony that connectors can indeed make a difference, as can the cable geometry, particularly with respect to things like shielding and cable capacitance when it comes to passing a signal from a MM cartridge to a phono stage for example. Any changes in sound will obviously be very kit (circuit) dependant

You yourself made the notional differentiation between film and foil everyone knows you are wriggling and pedantic.

Saying one thing and meaning another on the basis of interpretation " that everyone knows what you are talking about" is just plain wrong.

Statements based on the assumption that everyone knows what you mean, not what you say is a little ludicrous.

Your "statements stands", really means "your statement stands for correction.".

I have the greatest admiration for people who can design and make quality "hi fi" components for us to better appreciate our music, this does not mean they are the font of all knowledge and correct on all things.

Now that it's known what is correct, I'll leave it at that.

[Lawrence001]

Yes, but it isn't an insulator then. Conductive plastics are sometimes used in mic cables for screening, but they aren't being used as insulators in that application and require an additional insulating layer.
My original comment stands - the insulation on interconnects doesn't screen them from RFI.



They look a bit thin (and short) for speaker cables, but they would work.

The image is a stock picture the cables I bought are 8m long so not short but I take your point about the gauge. Are there any advantages to thinner speaker cable (low capacitance?). They arrived today so I'll make a start when I have time. I'm going to take the first 3m with the mini coax ends and fit banana cables to try my HE500 headphones direct from an amp, that leaves me 5m to play with for cables with the first one. I'll try with the speakers before I cut into 1m length so I know how they sound as speaker cable.


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[Light Dependant Resistor]

I didn't know this!

So, then it is in principle better to use banana plugs - with their bowed-sprung pins - for loudspeaker connections than to seek out expensive plugs which claim to enable a greater pin contact area within the socket?
IB

As it is awkward to solder or weld every connection, compromises on how connections are made. Yes banana plugs and sockets have large surface and reasonable tightness
so serve loudspeaker connection purpose fairly well.