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Tony,

Thank you for the reply, and apologies for not posting sooner, i've been having some issues with my net connection (bet it's the damn wires ).

Notwithstanding string theory as the potential source of a cable's sonic signature, you mentioned the more usual components that may be more readily examined. Examined and, with due relevancy, used as a basis for potential sources of change with reference to sonic signature. These are just basic physical observations, they aren't mine. I'm just trying to understand how a cable may provide the differences so often stated - prior to listening, prior to any form of blind testing. Imagine if we did indeed have a formula for such prediction - we do with most other hifi components - we could indeed design function specific cables. Thus, it isn't my opinion that no such formula could exist, it is the opinion of basic physics.

You mentioned a piece of copper versus a piece of silver, both having 99.99% purity. Firstly, i'm suprised you chose 4N purity, especially for copper, that's only 1 step above ETP, and we know how much bearing nines have - all those diode junctions (still will not show on a distortion analyzer). Silver, fair enough, 4N is considered pure for drawing into wire, before excessive malleability (and cost) take their toll. Everything else being equal (and i'm assuming that the 1m was a typo for 1mm, with regard to the copper or gold?), then, resistance would be the only determining factor for these otherwise similar wires to function (sonically speaking) differently?.

Without unnecessary recourse to specific resistivity, etc, etc, it can be given that the silver wire would present a lower resistance (relative to the fact that the measurement for both is very low already). For the given 1mm samples, about 5% difference. If audio distortion analysis has never (it hasn't) shown repeatable (or indeed any) difference between disimilar metals (and alloys thereof), this leaves the supposition that 5% less resistance is responsible for a change in sonic characteristic, how?. Are we not back to where we started?. That any difference is a consequence of something as yet measurable (which really isn't credible), or that no difference exists?.

I remember being told by a cable retailer that his main supplier was working with Hewlett Packard on a machine that 'proved' the presence of cable directionality. Like credible proof of cable directionality, the machine remains a pipe dream. A machine to contradict pretty elementary physics, and they can't even do that...what chance more viable distortion mechanisms?.

<blockquote data-quote="test tone" data-source="post: 516836" data-attributes="member: 1156">Tony,Thank you for the reply, and apologies for not posting sooner, i've been having some issues with my net connection (bet it's the damn wires <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink&nbsp; &nbsp; ;)"&nbsp; data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ).Notwithstanding string theory as the potential source of a cable's sonic signature, you mentioned the more usual components that may be more readily examined. Examined and, with due relevancy, used as a basis for potential sources of change with reference to sonic signature. These are just basic physical observations, they aren't mine. I'm just trying to understand how a cable may provide the differences so often stated - prior to listening, prior to any form of blind testing. Imagine if we did indeed have a formula for such prediction - we do with most other hifi components - we could indeed design function specific cables. Thus, it isn't my opinion that no such formula could exist, it is the opinion of basic physics. You mentioned a piece of copper versus a piece of silver, both having 99.99% purity. Firstly, i'm suprised you chose 4N purity, especially for copper, that's only 1 step above ETP, and we know how much bearing nines have - all those diode junctions (still will not show on a distortion analyzer). Silver, fair enough, 4N is considered pure for drawing into wire, before excessive malleability (and cost) take their toll. Everything else being equal (and i'm assuming that the 1m was a typo for 1mm, with regard to the copper or gold?), then, resistance would be the only determining factor for these otherwise similar wires to function (sonically speaking) differently?.Without unnecessary recourse to specific resistivity, etc, etc, it can be given that the silver wire would present a lower resistance (relative to the fact that the measurement for both is very low already). For the given 1mm samples, about 5% difference. If audio distortion analysis has never (it hasn't) shown repeatable (or indeed any) difference between disimilar metals (and alloys thereof), this leaves the supposition that 5% less resistance is responsible for a change in sonic characteristic, how?. Are we not back to where we started?. That any difference is a consequence of something as yet measurable (which really isn't credible), or that no difference exists?. I remember being told by a cable retailer that his main supplier was working with Hewlett Packard on a machine that 'proved' the presence of cable directionality. Like credible proof of cable directionality, the machine remains a pipe dream. A machine to contradict pretty elementary physics, and they can't even do that...what chance more viable distortion mechanisms?.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="test tone, post: 516836, member: 1156"] Tony, Thank you for the reply, and apologies for not posting sooner, i've been having some issues with my net connection (bet it's the damn wires ;) ). Notwithstanding string theory as the potential source of a cable's sonic signature, you mentioned the more usual components that may be more readily examined. Examined and, with due relevancy, used as a basis for potential sources of change with reference to sonic signature. These are just basic physical observations, they aren't mine. I'm just trying to understand how a cable may provide the differences so often stated - prior to listening, prior to any form of blind testing. Imagine if we did indeed have a formula for such prediction - we do with most other hifi components - we could indeed design function specific cables. Thus, it isn't my opinion that no such formula could exist, it is the opinion of basic physics. You mentioned a piece of copper versus a piece of silver, both having 99.99% purity. Firstly, i'm suprised you chose 4N purity, especially for copper, that's only 1 step above ETP, and we know how much bearing nines have - all those diode junctions (still will not show on a distortion analyzer). Silver, fair enough, 4N is considered pure for drawing into wire, before excessive malleability (and cost) take their toll. Everything else being equal (and i'm assuming that the 1m was a typo for 1mm, with regard to the copper or gold?), then, resistance would be the only determining factor for these otherwise similar wires to function (sonically speaking) differently?. Without unnecessary recourse to specific resistivity, etc, etc, it can be given that the silver wire would present a lower resistance (relative to the fact that the measurement for both is very low already). For the given 1mm samples, about 5% difference. If audio distortion analysis has never (it hasn't) shown repeatable (or indeed any) difference between disimilar metals (and alloys thereof), this leaves the supposition that 5% less resistance is responsible for a change in sonic characteristic, how?. Are we not back to where we started?. That any difference is a consequence of something as yet measurable (which really isn't credible), or that no difference exists?. I remember being told by a cable retailer that his main supplier was working with Hewlett Packard on a machine that 'proved' the presence of cable directionality. Like credible proof of cable directionality, the machine remains a pipe dream. A machine to contradict pretty elementary physics, and they can't even do that...what chance more viable distortion mechanisms?. [/QUOTE]

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