“Tailored distortion”. That’s a great term.
I spend my money to get my system(s) to sound how I like them to sound.
Is it true fidelity? I don’t know or care.
Would someone else like it? I don’t know or care.
Does it measure perfectly with one or more measurement devices? I don’t know or care.
I am just glad I was able to get to this level of enjoyment before cashing in my chips. 
14 Likes
Well stated. My situation as well.
The best cables I’ve heard have OCC Silver. Granite Audio, and VooDoo Cable (the later also has OCC copper, separate conductors, not silver-plated copper). I’ve heard silver cables that when installed were the opposite of what I like, but not these, they present a balance of clarity and musicality that my system wants.
3 Likes
Sadly, I don’t believe I have heard the “best” cables yet. There is always a danger I will.
5 Likes
Well there’s a good chance you will yet, you’re not that old of a “cranky fool”!
I promise I’ll personally get to be a part of the small group of crazy people who design the best of cables, it would be something if I’d get to impress you with an upcoming cable design.
That’s far away as of yet. Gotta have dreams.
Galen is an idol for me right now for sure and always will be. However, I have a bit of a tendency to lean towards the magic side of things, so to say, and that’s a good thing.
4 Likes
I find this interesting. The Kondo ONGAKU Amplifier. Hand built with all silver wiring and one of the world’s best sounding tubed amplifiers.
Here is a tour of the factory that builts it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9vRyw65kE0&ab_channel=AVshowreports
4 Likes
Kondo is a respectable “sage” so as to say, his use of silver is very artisanal, in the way that the designs and materials are finalized by meticulous Japanese evaluation process which may not be relatable to many western engineers, it’s different and really, all ears. All ears all the way.
1 Like
Silver sounds awesome. So much clarity and transparency. Kimber silver streaks were like looking into a crystal ball of sound. It sounded like Xmas tinsel. I moved up to Kimber select 1126 which is hybrid copper and silver and the sound became less of a looking glass and more vibey. I got some of the crystal ball effect, but with vibes that made the music less cold and more 3D. At speaker cable lengths, i can’t afford pure silver. But interconnects are a more economical place to add some silver.
1 Like
I have a feeling, just a feeling, that there’s something about the immediacy of transient transfer that makes silver generally accepted as fast and immediate. Okay so the electrons are just wiggling back-forth, moving slowly across a conductor but that’s the origin of our cherished EM wave. If they initially wiggle a bit faster, more responsively in a less resistive medium, wouldn’t that perhaps translate to the EM wave having more immediate transients? More immediate everything even, but it’s our perception of small time-scale transients that surely gives way to this fastness and immediacy effect.
As you say it could be too fast, as in resolving too much in the small time-scale, that detracts from the mentioned “vibey” feeling because, hmm, the vibey dimension is in a slower scale for our brains. Some “smearing” mandatory for that. I say smearing even though that’s distortion, because the fact is that pure enjoyment so often mandates a form of distortion or another.
I’m just babbling. Maybe everything that silver does can be emulated with copper.
But there’s a very real distinction here that’s interesting - to consider not simply the impedance of a conductor but the intrinsic resistance of the material and how those sluggish electrons act in their wiggly fashion. We rarely talk about electrons because as stated, they barely even move forward. That’s not the point, but how responsively they locally change their direction. Maybe we should consider more often the behavior of the very origin of the EM signal - the relation is direct after all. It is hard though, in terms of measurement. Then again we can probably deduce backwards how the electrons act by inspecting the EM wave. With all the tools in the world, we still can’t fully explain conductor properties, in the audio world I think we need more quantum physicists to participate.
We are demoing Albedo Silver Cables. They use monocrystalline silver technology.
We are very much liking what we are hearing.
Excuse the cable mess, but here’s some pics of our testing
4 Likes
Welcome @Vitus!
Nice rig!
2 Likes
You consider that a “cable mess”? Ha!
3 Likes
Ok you’ve got me beat! 
1 Like
Don’t get me wrong, I admire the neatness, I even used to be known for the neatness of some of my wiring looms (the ones where they didn’t pressure me for time).
It always starts off neat, but then I get to changing things and chaos returns 
3 Likes
Medusa! Pillar of Salt! Shield your eyes!
1 Like
“Why silver?” “Why a duck” “Deep water”.
You’ll have to excuse me. My guitar student brought me a bottle o bourbon. 
3 Likes
(cable) spaghetti is life!
1 Like
I recommend a rack or two of baby backs simmering in the sauce.
1 Like
