I have the ability to tell the differences between cables
No I am not born with golden ears
But what I do have is a KT88 amplifier with different .6 standard inputs
And I have a Jolida JD100A with 2 .6 outputs
What this provides me with, is direct a/b comparison without having to adjust volume levels and without having to make my judgments without basing the decisions upon faded memories
Now, sound signatures of "Silver"
Like all things, Silver is a metal than can be designed & manipulated to achieve different results.
In "most" cases that I can percieve and with most cables, is that you have to "give up" something for another
In silver, this usually comes to the fact that its an expensive material and low guage runs are made with them. This results in: incredible amounts of high frequency details without enough current to drive the bottom end.
The signature of Silver to me, is that its an incredibly conductive material, which has less tonal coloration than most materials and is less subjected to oxidation than copper.
With the right "ratio" of runs, such as multiple runs, braided appropriately of the correct gauge, you CAN retain the airy top extension with the proper mid and low end extensions.
Presently @ home I have 4 sets of cables:
Eichmann eXpress 6 series 2
Coincident IC
Moray James
Decware/MAC Silver ICs
Of the four above, are very capable cables, which all perform incredibly well with just variations of different "flavors" of sound
Of the four above, the Decware/MAC Silvers are the best focus'd and detailed cables and does not have any less dynamics than any other cable
However, this is where the downside of "Silver" falls into place.
We live in a Digital world, and thusly we are subjected to often poor recordings which processed through a DAC results in potentially ear grating sibilant fatigue.
On a well recorded album, such as a Kaki King or well mastered orchestration of the Boston Pops... The Silver cables are basically one of the "best" I've ever heard
The dynamics are well extended, yet not exaggerated
The level of details add to the airness and imaging, providing more focus (like a super tweeter)
On a poorly recorded Smiths live album, the results are horrific. It's like taking a cheese grater to your ear drum throughout the entire listening session.
Silver and well resolved copper ICs will produce grain out of poorly recorded software and unrefined equipment.
"luckyily"
I on the other hand have the option to run 2 sets of RCAs, so I will be ordering a set of cables from MAC and will keep my Moray James as those cables take my digital sound and warms them up beautifully to a "vinyl" like sound.
Cheers!
