[pimmedoris]

I'm planning on building a LOD for my iPod. I was thinking of using silver wire. For the connectors and cables I was planning on buying from Qables.com. Since I'm from the Netherlands it seems the easiest to buy from a dutch webshop. (Other tips are welcome off course)
 
I was expecting that silver wire would be more expensive than copper however at cables I saw that the opposite is true:
 
1m solid core Silver wire, 0,5mm ( 24 AWG) diameter, Insulated         €5.25 per meter

1m Solid core OFC copper wire, 0,5mm ( 24 AWG), PE insulated       €10.50 per meter
 
Am I missing something? Why is copper twice as expensive as silver? Are these prices decent? Other webshop prices I found may have been lower, but usually it's for a lot more meters...
 
Thanks!
 
EDIT: I see that the copper is 99.9999%, and the silver 99.99%. Is this the reason for the price difference? Is this difference audible and should I try to find 99.9999% silver?

 

[liamstrain]

Look for regular copper - you are paying extra for "audiophile" copper which will not make any difference in the sound. (Copper though, has recently really gone up on the metals market)
 
It should be noted that 24 solid core is very sturdy stuff, not very flexible, so bear that in mind as well.

 

[pimmedoris]

Thanks for your reply. I was planning to go with silver since I like the look of it better. On paper, I like the sound proporties of silver better than of copper, but I am not so sure if I will be able to hear the difference...

Is solid core more difficult to solder than 'normal' wire? Is the price of the silver wire at qables ok?

 

[liamstrain]

1. They should have identical sound properties. The difference in resistance is minimal (on a 10 foot cable, shortening the copper cable by 1/2 inch, makes up the difference). The "on paper" differences are a myth (both in my opinion, and by lack of supporting science for the claims of differences). 
 
2. Solid core is not really any more difficult to solder except for its stiffness - which just means you have to work a bit more to get things lined up. 
 
3. the Qables price on silver wire doesn't seem out of line for the product. I just personally don't think it is worth it at all to use solid core silver 24 awg wire in the first place. 

 

[akiroz]

In Material Science OFEC (99.99% Pure Copper) is more conductive than 99.99% pure silver. 
That is why Pro Audio Cables all use OFEC and not silver.
and IMHO using "Audiophile" copper which are sometimes over 99.99% purity will make minimal difference to the sound.
To be honest, all Pro audio cables are made of either OFC or OFEC (99.9 and 99.99) so I doubt using a purity higher the ones used to produce music is pointless.
 
 

 

[Tommy Thong]

"To be honest, all Pro audio cables are made of either OFC or OFEC (99.9 and 99.99) so I doubt using a purity higher the ones used to produce music is pointless"
 
then you need learn more about these 2 metal conductor. As you can see on the interconnect and speaker cables market, the interconnect and speaker-cables price between using OFC or 6N or 7N-UPOCC(7 nines Ultra Pure Ohno Cooper Conductor) and 4N or 5N Silver,their prices are different and the sound quality between them also are different.
On copper, OFC is the cheapest copper on the market, their sound pretty ugly and 7N UPOCC is the Best copper on the market with benefit their sound quality also is the best (nice sweet mids, soft solid bass and a little clings on top-ends but less details from the silver).The copper is perfect match with all solid-state dac or preamp or amp.
On the silver, 5N is best avaiable silver on the market and their sounds nice details follow with nice spranklings on top ends but lacks on the bass, and the people like to use on Tube's preamp or amp part(coz they try to upgrade the tube sound)
Just a little Advice, before you're buying and make  copper or  silver, you need to know what's equipment (solid state or tube) and the sound you want.
try to look at www.partsconnexion.com , they have a good price and more choice
Good luck
 

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

 
Quote:

1m solid core Silver wire, 0,5mm ( 24 AWG) diameter, Insulated         €5.25 per meter

1m Solid core OFC copper wire, 0,5mm ( 24 AWG), PE insulated       €10.50 per meter

That pricing is pretty unusual. Homegrown is currently selling their 24 gauge silver wire for $7.50 a foot, which translates to $24.75 a meter or €18.60. For solid core copper, even if you step up to PTFE (Teflon) with Neotech 24 gauge, it's only about $1.30 a foot / $4.30 a meter or €3.24. So if U.S. prices are any indication, that silver wire is a bargain  
 

 

[Lil' Knight]

@Tommy Thong: Sorry but all the stuff you said are purely subjective, no need to 'learn more' or 'give advice'.

 

[Danthrax]

My snake oil cures cancer! I generally buy cable based on how it looks and how easy it is to work with. That being said DHC nucleotide is sexy looking and I want some but it is so damn expensive, for me not relative to other cable.

 

[Magick Man]

@Tommy Thong: Sorry but all the stuff you said are purely subjective, no need to 'learn more' or 'give advice'.

Yup. I make my own silver interconnects, but only because I think they look cool and I can tell people, "yeah, they're pure silver cables".

There's no difference in sound between them and any properly made copper cables, and I have some very revealing home audio gear (see profile).

 

[AudioCats]

very good price on the silver wire, that is about $2.5/ft, haven't seen that price for a while.
 

 

[qusp]

really? cheaper around than that. not bad at all from Hans in the EU so i'm not saying its pricey because its not, but its not amazing
 
check vt4c.com for good pricing on 4n silver and they have PTFE tubing separately at a good price too. if 4n and not OCC is fine for the job then these guys cannot be beat afaik