Where does the myth of silver-plated and gold-plated audio cables come from, does it make sense?

andreyatakum 21 May 2026 03:25 40 2733 Cool? (+13)

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TL;DR

The piece examines the audiophile claim that silver-plated or gold-plated audio cables improve sound quality.
It traces the myth to professional and military high-frequency communications gear, where silver plating helped resonant circuits and oxidation resistance.
Copper's resistivity is 1.72×10-⁸ Ω-m, silver's is 1.59×10-⁸ Ω-m, only about 6% lower.
The conclusion is that silver plating in acoustic circuits makes no sense because skin effect is negligible at audio frequencies, while gold is worse.
Silver-plated conductors mattered in circuits above 3 MHz, where skin effect and copper oxidation could affect coil stability and resonance.

AI summary based on the discussion. May contain errors.

There is an opinion among some lovers, or rather fanatics, of audio equipment that the wires in circuits should not be made of oxygen-free copper alone, but preferably of silver-plated copper. Some audiophiles go even further and even recommend gold-plated cables. Where did this opinion come from and to what extent is it correct? I am already explaining it to you.

At first glance, the myth about silver's positive effect on sound is due to the fact that silver has lower resistivity than copper. This is true, but the difference between the resistivity of copper and silver is only about 6% (1.72×10-⁸ Ω-m for copper and 1.59×10-⁸ Ω-m for silver). From this it can be concluded that it would be cheaper to increase the diameter of the cables by 6% than to make them entirely of silver. On the other hand, silver plating of the conductors itself has a completely negligible effect in terms of reducing resistivity.

Metal extension spring with hooks on both ends on a white background.

Typical coil from a military radio. Photo by Tadas (LY1CE)

But the myth lives on. In my opinion, its origin is in professional communications equipment, mainly military, from the tube era. At that time, silver-plated wires were indeed widely used, but this was only for high-frequency circuits and it was never intended to be used in acoustic circuits. It is true that in old equipment you can find silver-plated contacts in switches and relays, but there silver has a completely different role.
In the analogue communications era, short-term and long-term stability was an important parameter and depended heavily on the quality of the coils in the resonant circuits. This is where silver-plated wires were used extensively. The operating frequencies of these circuits usually exceeded 3 MHz. At such frequencies, the skin effect, which occurs in AC circuits and causes the current density near the surface of the conductor to be greater than inside the conductor, becomes very evident.
The thickness of the skin layer for non-magnetic metals is inversely proportional to the square root of the frequency and resistivity. For silver, it is approximately 65 µm at a frequency of 1 MHz. In practice, however, the thickness of the silver layer on such conductors is usually much less. This means that silvering the conductors is not intended to reduce their resistivity.

Anyone who has dealt with copper products knows how quickly copper oxidises and becomes covered in patina, requiring regular cleaning and polishing to maintain its shine. In electronic equipment, especially in resonant circuits, 'shine' refers to the quality of the epidermal layer. Copper oxides and their derivatives quickly reach a thickness of a few nanometres at room temperature, and moisture further accelerates this process.
After a few years, the oxide layer increases the resistivity of the epidermal layer - not because the oxides themselves have higher resistivity (in fact, copper oxides are dielectrics), but as a result of an increase in the effective path length of the current in this layer. Instead of flowing along as straight a path as possible, the current must bypass the irregularities created by the oxides. This leads not only to a reduction in the circuit's goodness, but also to a deterioration in resonance performance.

Graph-paper sketch of silver and copper layers and Cu2O on copper, with handwritten notes about current.

Silver and gold are not susceptible to oxidation, at least under terrestrial conditions. And it is precisely silver that is used as a protective agent for copper against oxidation. Admittedly, silver is also sometimes used as an epidermal current conductor on metals other than copper, or even on non-metals, but these cases are rather rare.
On the other hand, silver reacts with sulphur compounds present in the air, leading to the formation of a dark tarnish. However, this is very thin and does not significantly affect the properties of the conductors. In electronic equipment, this tarnish can be found especially in the immediate vicinity of insulators, which in former times were often made of rubber containing sulphur.
The conclusion is simple: silver plating of conductors in acoustic circuits makes no sense from the point of view of sound quality, because at acoustic frequencies the skin effect is negligible. Gold in such circuits even worsens the performance, as it has a resistivity about 30% higher than copper (2.44×10-⁸ Ω-m). This is of little significance in circuits with small currents, but in power circuits this difference already becomes significant.

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andreyatakum wrote 833 posts with rating 1155 . Live in city Antalya. Been with us since 2021 year.

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viayner 21 May 2026 06:08

Hello, a small correction: - silver and gold are oxidisable under terrestrial conditions, they just need "a lot of encouragement", but simplifying on their surface we do not have a typical oxide layer. -... [Read more]

andreyatakum 21 May 2026 07:13

In the Soviet Union, gold was used in military equipment for this reason. Military customers were not very familiar with electronics and physics, but gold-plated cables or contacts were impressive - "however... [Read more]

viayner 21 May 2026 07:45

Hello, I see it more like this: "lovers of gold teeth" accept everything gold. The aforementioned group has always been greedy for gold. Greetings. [Read more]

lukepopek 21 May 2026 08:13

Exactly, it is that state of mind of a certain group of people to whom no sound arguments appeal. [Read more]

sq3evp 21 May 2026 08:27

To quote a classic: "golden, yet humble". And the marble speaker cable holders? They also enhance the listening experience :) [Read more]

acctr 21 May 2026 08:42

To be precise, you only need to increase the cross-sectional area by that much, not the diameter. By increasing the diameter 6% you get a drop in resistance of over 11%, and to get 6% lower you only need... [Read more]

gulson 21 May 2026 10:29

What is this? How dare you write such heresies! Our audio cables are different and worth every price! And, in fact, the idea of increasing the diameter of the copper wire is a good one and the smarter... [Read more]

viayner 21 May 2026 11:10

Hello, I would add here a note of reason, if we are talking, for example, about a signal cable of, say, 1 m in length connecting a CD with an amplifier and it has a resistance of 0.012 ohms, does its... [Read more]

rosomak19 21 May 2026 16:37

Wooo Lordee not the sort of thing you sometimes see on audio forums! Example ? A guest heard the difference in the sound of a set, CD + amplifier with DAC connected and here attention focus.... with a... [Read more]

Bazyl 21 May 2026 19:09

There are some people who, if you gild the 230V plug of their shaver, immediately have smoother skin after shaving. And they FEEL it!!! :) I'm not saying there are no audiophiles, just listen to the... [Read more]

kulmar 21 May 2026 20:01

Rather well shielded cables. [Read more]

rosomak19 21 May 2026 20:07

There are some audiophiles who didn't even realise at the "audioshoot" that one of the speakers was wired the other way round and played in counterphase XD Not to mention how, in a blind test, two CDs... [Read more]

viayner 22 May 2026 06:10

Hello, And all things being equal, I think a distinction needs to be made between audiophiles and those pretending to be considered audiophiles. There is a group that hears a lot, despite appearances... [Read more]

elukam 22 May 2026 12:31

Gold plating and silver plating, either all-over or selective(!), makes sense in HF circuits where skin elect and signal stability related to surface quality are very important. Specific gold plating... [Read more]

sq3evp 22 May 2026 13:24

Silver plated contacts, a hard alloy, are used in the power industry to reduce arc resistance when switching on/off reflectors. Reducing the resistance results in a decrease in the power lost in the arc... [Read more]

rosomak19 22 May 2026 16:16

Sory, but I won't believe it ! What effect does an optical cable have on a digital signal ? I'm talking about a section of 0.5m , what changes the individual bits ? This is absurd ! On such a distance,... [Read more]

Macosmail 22 May 2026 18:19

For audio signal cables, it is sufficient to give an antenna coax for WIFI, for example. An irrefutable argument then arises. Since such a cable carries 5GHz, it will also carry audio frequencies. [Read more]

elukam 22 May 2026 22:08

Antenna and other cables found in radio technology are matched long lines. This has nothing to do with the transmission of audio signals between anything. In the past, I think only microphones were connected... [Read more]

Macosmail 23 May 2026 10:46

But after all, this does not interfere with the acoustic frequencies in any way. Such cables have minimised capacitance, a dielectric with excellent properties, very good screening, low resistance, especially... [Read more]

FAQ

TL;DR: Silver is only about 6% more conductive than copper, and as one poster put it, "skin effect is negligible" in audio bands. This FAQ is for audio buyers and vintage-hi-fi tinkerers who want a clear answer on whether silver-plated or gold-plated cables improve sound, and when cable properties really do matter. [#21907260]

Why it matters: The thread separates real engineering cases—HF coils, contact reliability, cable capacitance—from prestige claims around "premium" audio cabling.

Option	What it helps	Where it makes sense	Main limit in audio
Plain copper	Low resistance at low cost	Normal speaker and RCA cables	Needs adequate cross-section
Silver-plated copper	Stable HF surface, oxidation protection	Resonant and HF circuits above a few MHz	Audible benefit in audio not shown
Gold-plated contacts	Corrosion-resistant contact surface	Selective contact plating in pro gear	Gold bulk resistivity is higher than copper
Thicker cable	Lower series resistance	Longer speaker runs, low-impedance loads	Overkill on short line-level links

Key insight: In normal acoustic audio cables, geometry and interface quality matter more than precious-metal plating. For weak or long links, shielding, symmetry, capacitance, and correct source impedance dominate the result. [#21908158]

Quick Facts

Copper resistivity was cited as 1.72×10^-8 Ω·m, silver as 1.59×10^-8 Ω·m, so the conductivity gain is only about 6%. [#21907260]
Gold was cited at 2.44×10^-8 Ω·m, about 30% higher resistivity than copper, which is why gold plating is valued for contact stability rather than bulk conductivity. [#21907260]
In the thread’s RF example, the silver skin depth was given as about 65 µm at 1 MHz, showing why surface condition matters in MHz circuits but not in audio. [#21907260]
A practical line-level example used 0.012 Ω versus 0.009 Ω for a 1 m cable and questioned whether that tiny change can justify a thick "audiophile" replacement. [#21907416]
In the vintage DIN case, 220 kΩ with about 1 nF cable capacitance gave a -3 dB point near 723 Hz, proving cable capacitance can matter when source impedance is abnormally high. [#21910437]

Where does the belief that silver-plated or gold-plated audio cables improve sound quality actually come from?

It largely comes from copying practices that were valid in military and professional RF equipment, then misapplying them to audio. The thread argues that silver-plated wire was widely used in tube-era resonant circuits above about 3 MHz, where surface condition affected Q and stability. That historical use later became an audiophile prestige claim, while gold also gained status value because it looked premium and impressed buyers. [#21907260]

Why does silver plating make sense in HF and resonant circuits above a few MHz, but not in normal acoustic audio cables?

Silver plating makes sense in HF circuits because current crowds near the conductor surface, so oxide-free surface quality directly affects losses. The thread cites resonant circuits operating above 3 MHz and gives a silver skin depth of about 65 µm at 1 MHz. Audio cables work at far lower frequencies, so surface-only conduction is not dominant and the benefit largely disappears. [#21907260]

How much electrical advantage does silver really have over copper, and why is increasing cable cross-section usually a cheaper alternative?

Silver offers only about a 6% resistivity advantage over copper, so the gain is small. The cited values were 1.59×10^-8 Ω·m for silver and 1.72×10^-8 Ω·m for copper. One poster then corrected the geometry: to cut resistance by about 6%, you increase cross-sectional area by that amount, or diameter by only about 3.1%, which is far cheaper than using silver. [#21907325]

Silver-plated copper vs plain copper for speaker cables — which matters more in practice: plating, diameter, or shielding?

For speaker cables, diameter matters more than plating, and shielding usually matters less than in weak-signal lines. The thread states that if cable resistance stays at 5% or less of speaker impedance, that is sufficient in practice. Silver plating does not improve audible performance at audio frequencies, while thicker copper reduces series loss directly on long runs. [#21908158]

What is the skin effect, and why is it considered negligible at audio frequencies?

"Skin effect" is an AC-current distribution effect that concentrates current near a conductor surface, reducing effective cross-section as frequency rises. It matters when frequency is high enough that surface conduction dominates, as in MHz resonant circuits. The thread explicitly says that in acoustic-frequency circuits the effect is negligible, so silver plating on speaker or interconnect conductors does not improve sound by that mechanism. [#21907260]

What is selective gold plating of contacts, and where is it still used in professional electronics?

"Selective gold plating" is a contact-finish method that coats only the actual mating area, preserving low-corrosion contact where reliability matters while reducing cost. The thread says it is still used in high-quality professional equipment where loss of contact is unacceptable. It also notes that in ordinary consumer electronics, simpler technical coatings usually provide enough protection and durability. [#21908158]

How does oxidation or sulphide tarnish on copper, silver, and gold affect contacts and conductor surfaces over time?

Copper oxidizes quickly, silver mainly tarnishes by reacting with sulfur compounds, and gold resists ordinary corrosion best. The thread says copper oxides can reach around 100 nm at room conditions, while silver sulphides can reach single-µm thicknesses. For HF surfaces and contacts, these films change the real current path or contact quality over time, even when the base metal remains conductive. [#21907270]

Why can gold plating actually worsen conductivity in power paths compared with copper, even though gold is seen as premium?

Gold can worsen conductivity because its bulk resistivity is higher than copper’s. The thread cites gold at 2.44×10^-8 Ω·m, about 30% above copper, so gold is a poor choice when the path must carry meaningful current with minimum loss. Gold earns its reputation from corrosion resistance and contact reliability, not from better current conduction in power paths. [#21907260]

When does cable capacitance start to affect audio bandwidth, as in the Amateur Stereo and M531S DIN cable example?

Cable capacitance starts to matter when source resistance is very high and the cable is long enough to form an RC low-pass filter. In the thread’s vintage case, a 2 m DIN cable interacted with a 220 kΩ source resistor, audibly reducing treble during recording and monitoring. A short 40–50 cm interconnect would have had much less effect because total capacitance would be much lower. [#21910399]

How do you calculate the cutoff frequency created by a 220 kΩ source resistance and the capacitance of a 2 m audio cable?

Use the RC low-pass formula and plug in the total cable capacitance. One poster already did the arithmetic with 220 kΩ and 1 nF and got about 723 Hz at -3 dB. That value is disastrously low for hi-fi, which is why the long DIN lead in that specific circuit audibly removed treble. [#21910437]

What was the purpose of the old mV/k input standard in tape recorders and audio equipment?

It standardized expected signal level against input resistance so different sources and recorders could interconnect without gross overload. The thread gives a rule of 1 mV/kΩ and mentions tape-recorder inputs around 47–100 kΩ. With a 220 kΩ series resistor, the source and input formed a divider that reduced a higher preamp output to a safer recording level. [#21910735]

How should you properly fix a vintage audio circuit where a long interconnect cable forms an unwanted low-pass filter?

The proper fix is to lower the effective source impedance without breaking the original interface assumptions. 1. Measure the source resistor and cable capacitance. 2. Add an isolating stage, such as a transistor buffer, instead of only shrinking the resistor. 3. Use a shorter cable, around 0.5 m if possible. The thread warns that simply replacing 220 kΩ with 10 kΩ can solve treble loss but may also defeat the original matching concept and invite reverse interference. [#21911724]

Why are shielding and cable symmetry often more important than conductor material for weak audio signals and turntable connections?

They matter more because weak signals are far more vulnerable to external noise pickup than to tiny changes in conductor resistivity. The thread repeatedly points to shielding and symmetry as the priorities for low-level audio links, including turntable-related wiring. A cable that rejects interference well will outperform an unshielded "premium metal" cable even if both use copper-based conductors. [#21908196]

For short RCA interconnects between a CD player and amplifier, what cable parameters actually matter: resistance, capacitance, shielding, or characteristic impedance?

For short RCA links, shielding and reasonable capacitance matter most, resistance matters little, and characteristic impedance is largely irrelevant. The thread gives an example of 0.012 Ω versus 0.009 Ω over 1 m and treats that difference as practically meaningless. It also notes that audio connections are not transmission-line matched like RF or 75 Ω composite video links. [#21907416]

What is a DI-Box, and how could it help when connecting audio equipment over longer cable runs?

"DI-Box" is an interface device that adapts an audio source for longer cable runs, typically by isolating, balancing, or buffering the signal to reduce losses and interference. In the thread, it appears as the proper professional remedy for the long-cable vintage problem instead of relying on a high-impedance consumer-style interconnect. That makes it useful when distance or noise, not cable metallurgy, is the real issue. [#21911516]

AI summary based on the discussion. May contain errors.