[zoltanmocsary]

I finally had the opportunity to try some silver speaker cables with the Stratos--I'm glad I did, it lead to the most important revelation since buying the Sratos. It's not that I did not have top notch sound with the Groneberg cables, but the bass sometimes felt a little flabby or not perfectly controlled (this was the only weakness that I and my friends could perceive in my system).
The Groneberg is an excellent cable but it cannot compete against silver--a whole new world opened up with the silver cables--the sound became much more transparent, punchy, dynamic, the transients are lightning fast, the silver literally added an octave extension in both ends of the spectrum -- the bass suddenly tightened up; is as rapid as a "shark attack"--grabs and releases fast.
Some people may find silver too aggressive sounding because it is relentlessly revealing and more critical of the the whole audio chain than copper and less forgiving of weak components and faulty recordings.
Changing the interconnects to silver had a similar effect on the sound, it became even more pristine and quick.
I and my friends concluded that pure silver cables are a perfect match for the Stratos and push this wonderful amp to new heights.
This raises the question whether it is worth replacing the internal wiring for silver--logic suggests yes, since this way complete synergy could be achieved in the signal path.
I have a friend who uses silver all the way in his tube gear, including the power cord, the internal wiring of the transformers--the sonic results are breathtaking.
Some systems may sound harsh and lean on silver and these systems will need to be scrutinized for weak links/components. If the components are top notch and everything is matched perfectly, silver will unleash the full sonic potential of the system.
Some of you may disagree but I would recommend trying it out yourselves; you may be in for a tremendous surprise.

Zoltan

The system: 2 Odyssey Stratos Stereo, driven in bridged mode; Sony XE930 CD with mods, battery powered; Audyssey APS 5+2 speakers (not only a namesake of the Stratos, but a perfect match as well), custom-made pure silver biwire speaker cables and interconnects

P.S. I plan to retire the Groneberg cables to my home theatre setup where I do not do critical listening.

[scottpretti]

Zoltan,  can you tell us more about your custom-made silver cables?  Who made them?  Price?
Thanks

[speedcenter]

I've been using DIY silver interconnects for quite some time now, and am very happy with the results. If I understand your post correctly, you are also using silver speaker cables? I've been putting off that move until I finalze my bi-amplification setup with 4 monoblocks, located directly behind my speakers. Once I know the exact lenghts needed, I'll probbaly build some flat silver foil wires based on an unrolled inductor (see
http://www.alphacore.com/shop/enter.html?target=Solid_Silver_Foil_Inductor.html ), using some sort of large teflon tube around them, but having mostly an "air dielectric" anyway.

Given I will only need 4 pairs at about 1 foot each, I will probably get away with one of the smallest inductors offered. The cost for that compared to what commecrial silver speaker wires cost (even from the same source  listed above ) , this won't hurt the bank account too much.

Right now I am using DIY cat-5 11 inch bi-wires from amp to speaker,  and even that sounds might fine (already much better than the previous 2 foot XLO Reference series Type 6a's)

About internal re-wiring: If you want to go that route, you will also need to ditch the speaker terminals and RCA posts, then use silver solder and connect the wires directly and permanently to where they need to go, or find some really high grade solid silver terminals ($$$). I think the less different metals are in the signal path, the better your results. However, there's a point where the whole thing gets out of hand and conevenience, such as the ability to unplug your wires, wins over perfection.

In my system there are so many other tweakable areas, that I'll leave the internal amp wires out of my plans.

Peter

[djbnh]

Klaus,

Care to wade in regarding synergistic cables for a Stratos/Tempest combination? Any comment on the synergies of silver cables with a Stratos/Tempest setup?

[randog]

Klaus,

I second that emotion...

What are some of the best interconnects you've heard used between the Stratos and Tempest... (not just the G-String!   )

Randog

[Tyson]

I used PSS pure silver cables and speaker wire with the Stratos and dual mono stratos, with a whole host of different preamps (passives, active solid state, and tube preamps).  Best cables I've heard with the Stratos I still have - the Bolder Cables Bybee'd Nitro's.  You won't believe how much music these things let through.  I like the Bolder M80's too (speaker wire and IC's).  Just the humble opinion of an inveterate cable swapper. . .