Low end. Cheap. Generic. Otherwise bang for buck cable thread!
Nov 7, 2018 at 9:17 AM Post #109 of 9,177
The whole gold cable thing is a recent phenomenon. To be honest unless your a boutique cable maker and actually incorporate real gold for sonic reasons. All these gold plated or actually colored is more like it SPC cables have more to do with asthetics than anything. I actually bought a 8 core gold supposedly gold plated SPC cable and it sounds and looks exactly like a silver coated copper cable I bought from the same vendor.

Long storry short. Don't go for the gold unless it matches your solaris :ksc75smile:.. There is no benefit besides color matching. lol.
 
Nov 7, 2018 at 9:29 AM Post #110 of 9,177
The whole gold cable thing is a recent phenomenon. To be honest unless your a boutique cable maker and actually incorporate real gold for sonic reasons. All these gold plated or actually colored is more like it SPC cables have more to do with asthetics than anything. I actually bought a 8 core gold supposedly gold plated SPC cable and it sounds and looks exactly like a silver coated copper cable I bought from the same vendor.

Long storry short. Don't go for the gold unless it matches your solaris :ksc75smile:.. There is no benefit besides color matching. lol.

I just assumed people knew they weren’t going to be gold plated.

I mean, KZ and TRN’s new 8-core wired for $7? Like you said, the color is just for looks.
 
Nov 7, 2018 at 9:51 AM Post #111 of 9,177
I think if we focus more on actual core of what the cable is. It is more viable. NiceHCK and the other vendors have 4 to 5 different color variations of the same cable. Really at this price range we are talking about copper. How pure and if it has silver coating on it or not. Then I wonder if the silver coating on a lot of these cables are just paint. Lol. I bet it is.
 
Nov 7, 2018 at 10:58 AM Post #112 of 9,177
These are cheap and suppsedly OCC SPC. Lunashops cable for $20. Looks nice too.

HTB10s_TXdfvK1RjSszhq6AcGFXa6.jpg


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Sil...lgo_pvid=129ea52e-cc23-4007-8e44-6d3ce04406a3
Shipping cost is higher than cable price :frowning2:

Shipping:US $25.78 to France via EMS
 
Nov 7, 2018 at 11:54 AM Post #113 of 9,177
Shipping cost is higher than cable price :frowning2:

Shipping:US $25.78 to France via EMS

Plus VAT tax on top?

Nothing like a $20 cable that costs $100 by the time you get it in your hands.

Now I know why the Boston Tea Party happened lol
 
Nov 7, 2018 at 1:04 PM Post #115 of 9,177
I think if we focus more on actual core of what the cable is. It is more viable. NiceHCK and the other vendors have 4 to 5 different color variations of the same cable. Really at this price range we are talking about copper. How pure and if it has silver coating on it or not. Then I wonder if the silver coating on a lot of these cables are just paint. Lol. I bet it is.
Any millionaires here want to buy a bunch of silver plated Aliexpress cables and see if they're painted and not silver? :wink: Or, hire a scientist and see if they are real silver... if the color doesn't scratch off.
 
Nov 7, 2018 at 1:58 PM Post #116 of 9,177
Nov 7, 2018 at 2:01 PM Post #117 of 9,177
Any millionaires here want to buy a bunch of silver plated Aliexpress cables and see if they're painted and not silver? :wink: Or, hire a scientist and see if they are real silver... if the color doesn't scratch off.

I can do testing of 1 braided KZ cable. I have connections in the fine jewelry business, and can have it tested for the presence of silver.

I’m not going to buy and destroy a boatload of cables though, but I’m willing to test 1. If someone wants to donate a cable or 2 and send them to me (Cincinnati Ohio), I will have it tested.
 
Nov 7, 2018 at 2:07 PM Post #118 of 9,177
No need to hire a scientist, just do a google search.

Of those tests, the telltale one is the nitric acid test.

The magnet test is used to identify ferrous base metals, which we know our cables wouldn’t have.

The nitric acid test is all that’s needed. It’s the gold standard, and is what we use in the fine jewelry industry. Those other tests listed (ice, bleach, chicken blood, pixie dust) are ghetto and no one uses those.

I’ll do the nitric acid test this week and report the results.

It does not identify the purity of silver though, only that silver is present. There are specialized assays to determine the exact precious metal content, but that is overkill for the cable issue. Nitric acid will tell right away if the cable is plated with silver vs tin vs nickel (the 3 most common silver colored wire electro coatings).

I doubt it’s nickel though, as nickel plating makes wire more difficult to solder. Tin and silver platings are going to be the most common we see by far, as they actually make it easier to solder.

Tin is cheaper, and actually increases cable resistance so it is not desirable. However, it’s used because it ‘looks good’ and is cheap.
 
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Nov 7, 2018 at 2:46 PM Post #119 of 9,177
Three quick tests.

1.) cut it and stick it under a scope and look at the end to visually confirm plated vs solid
2.) cut a known length of cable and measure its density. Pure copper, pure silver, and hybrids will all yield different densities.
3.) stick a small piece under a torch and look for green flame color to identify presence of copper.
 
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Nov 7, 2018 at 2:54 PM Post #120 of 9,177
Three quick tests.

1.) cut it and stick it under a scope and look at the end to visually confirm plated vs solid
2.) cut a known length of cable and measure its density. Pure copper, pure silver, and hybrids will all yield different densities.
3.) stick a small piece under a torch and look for green flame color to identify presence of copper.

I thought we were strictly talking about the “silver plated” copper cables. A $5-$20 isn’t going to be pure silver.
 

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