[A.G. Smith]

Yeah, but get them too close and you'll have far too much capacitance for some amps, which can result in instability and well, maybe some not so great things happening to your amp! 

IMO, you're better off with them separated by at least a few inches and then you'll get the single-wire inductance based on the dims of the foil. I will refrain from offering any opinion on this.  I'm just posting to keep folks from destroying amps.

@DaveC113,
I appreciate your concern about the high capacitance but that is simply not applicable to the Fidelium cables.   The high capacitance and amplifier instability issue was most commonly, right or wrong, associated with the Goertz cables which, aside from the rectangular conductor similarity, are very different cables.  Goertz intentionally laminated their two conductors together in order to create the high capacitance needed to achieve a low characteristic impedance.   It is worth noting here too that even that high capacitance had no impact on frequency response.  Likewise, if a user were to separate the positive and negative Fidelium run by a foot or more, the resulting inductance would still be at least 2 to 3 orders of magnitude less than anything that would affect frequency response. 
In order to produce Goertz-like capacitance with the Fidelium, a user would have to somehow press the positive and negative conductors together (perhaps sandwich them between two boards) and maintain a consistent spacing of a couple thousandths of an inch.  Obviously, no one is going to do that.  With the undulations of the ribbons, even if a user were to perfectly align the ribbons on top of each other, the resulting natural space between the ribbons would maintain a capacitance at least an order of magnitude less than the Goertz.  Again, high capacitance is simply not a concern with the Fidelium.
Thanks for your feedback.

Speedskater offers good advice.  These cables will act like excellent antennas. In fact if you wanted on purpose to create an antenna in order to pick up stray signals and emi noise you probably couldn’t do better than these cables. So you should be very careful in locating and routing them based on what other cables, power supplies, and other electrical noise sources are nearby.

@Speedskater & @hifiguy1
EMI is not an issue with any speaker cables.  EMI is noise and we hear it a hiss, buzz, or hum.  EMI does not cause any temporal or frequency alterations to the musical signal so therefore does not contribute to a harsh treble, boomy bass, ill-defined soundstage or imaging, poor perceived macro/micro dynamics, poor resolution, etc.  Those issues are all due time smearing of the musical signal caused by the cable itself.
The reason we hear the hiss, buzz, or hum is because it is picked up by line level and/or phono interconnect cables, which convey far lower level signals, and then amplified.  Any EMI picked up by the speaker cables is obviously post-amplifier and therefore unamplified.   If the EMI picked up by the speaker cable was audible during playback, it would also be audible with no playback. An easy way to test this is to disconnect the speaker cables from the amp and check to see if you can hear noise from your speakers.  You will not.  Further,  while the Fidelium alloy’s characteristics make it far superior to copper, silver, or any of their alloys in terms of skin-effect induced time smearing, they also make the Fidelium alloy a poor choice to use in an antenna.  Adding a shield to a speaker cable introduces metal into the electromagnetic field within the dielectric and causes additional time smearing of the musical signal.  So not only is a shield on a speaker cables not needed, a shield degrades speaker cable performance.

Lastly, in actual use, several Fidelium owners who have provided feedback on my website, have specifically mentioned a lower perceived noise floor.  https://silversmithaudio.com/blog/
Objectively, I am confident in the physics from which I designed the Palladium and now the new Fidelium cables.  I’m thrilled that the objective science and subjective professional and customer reviews are in agreement.

Thanks to you as well for your feedback.

Happy listening!

[guest101973]

First of all thank you for your expert input on this matter.

I’m sure you would agree that if a conductor such as a wire is in close proximity to an alternating magnetic field that a current will be induced into that conductor.  The science here is irrefutable.  However, the magnitude of that current may be so small that is of no consequence in the particular circuit of interest. And I believe that is what you are claiming in the case of your speaker wires.

Some of us, me included, have been under the impression that the induced current could be audible.  But I’m perfectly willing to stand corrected on that matter, and appreciate the clarification.

So it seems safe to conclude that regardless of their individual physical makeup speaker wires are all the same with regard to picking up noise from nearby AC sources.  It is interesting, however, that some other speaker wire manufactures continue to claim their particular designs offer immunity to RFI/EMI interference.   Claims which I think the rest of us can promptly ignore as being of no significance.

[A.G. Smith]

@hifiguy1,
Thanks for your comments.  Some geometries are better than others and some shielding methods are better than others in rejecting noise, especially RFI.  60hz EMI, on the other hand, is more difficult to tame.  But as you alluded to, and as I opined above, the effects of RFI/EMI on speaker cables, regardless of geometry, should be dismissed as inconsequential and inaudible.
Cable science has been the subject of debate for decades.  Readers and potential customers should collect nuggets of information like this in forums, reviews, white papers, testimonials, etc., and use them as tools.  Apply some critical thinking.  Ask the ‘why?’ and ‘what if?’ questions.  Perhaps even go to the silly extreme of wrapping your speaker cable around your power cord just to see if you can induce some 60hz hum out of your speakers.  Use all of this to narrow down your list of cables, components, and/or tweaks that you want to experience.  At the end of the day, it is not the science that matters.  What matters is which one makes you happy? Which one increases your enjoyment of your music?  The demise of so many brick and mortar dealers has certainly made it more difficult to access those items which made the short list.  Fortunately, there are quite a few companies like mine and DaveC113’s (ZenWave) that offer risk free trials.  I certainly encourage everyone to avail themselves of these opportunities.   

[Mike B.]

What is the width of the cable? I use a ARC tube amp with negative and 4 and 8 ohm posts fairly close together.

[A.G. Smith]

What is the width of the cable? I use a ARC tube amp with negative and 4 and 8 ohm posts fairly close together.

@Mike B.,
Thanks for your question.  The label ends are 2.5 in wide and very flexible.  Most binding posts are situated fairly close together and it is expected that the label ends will overlap the adjacent cable or rest against the adjacent binding post.  They are entirely nonconductive except for the notched 3/4 in square conductor material on one side that will slide under the binding post nut.  The flexibility of the label end will allow you to bend and hold it in a 'U' shape to easily slide it into place.  You should not have any difficulties in connecting the Fidelium to your ARC amp.
Thanks again.

[eichlerera1]

Well, so much for inductance, capacitance and antenna issues.....

Try the cables for yourself.
I believe you will be shocked by a totally different sound than you are used to.

[eichlerera1]

Got around 80 hrs on the Fideliums and they have improved a tad bit.
The Bass is a little tighter and the Mids are a little sweeter.
I'm lovin' these cables!

I've never been a big proponent of significant cable improvement over time.
I thought perhaps that the Cable/Amp & Cable /Speaker metal interfaces became more "intimate" with each other over time (at a molecular level).

At any rate, there was a subtle, but decided improvement.....

[DavidKesner]

Here are the Fidelium Cables hooked up to GoldenEar Triton Reference speakers and Pass Labs INT 250 amp.

[eichlerera1]

Here are the Fidelium Cables hooked up to GoldenEar Triton Reference speakers and Pass Labs INT 250 amp.

Damn!
Your Amp and Speaker terminal configurations were made for these cables!

[DavidKesner]

Seems that way. I also think that they are an amazing sounding cable as well and an improvement over the Synergistic Research Atmosphere X Alive I was running.

[eichlerera1]

New Review!

http://enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1120/Silversmith_Audio_Fidelium_Loudspeaker_Cables_Review.htm

[Big Red Machine]

Yeah, I'm glad I didn't try to explain myself. These words resonated with me:

"Not only did extension improve at both frequency extremes, and my ULTRA 9s play down to 16Hz and up to 60 kHz, but pitch definition at the lower end, and effortlessness, air, and ease of the topmost registers, were being handled more accurately than they had been with my muy bueno reference cables.

None of the previously mentioned low-frequency roll-off I'd heard with the earlier Nordost or Goertz cables here...in fact, just the opposite. With the Fidelium, bass not only seemed to extend deeper, but the precision of pitch definition. Its' attack and decay were as realistic as I've ever noted from any loudspeaker cables. In particular, the leading edge of bass transients is rendered in an especially lifelike way — one that delivers an inescapably authentic weight, texture, and power to the music."

And most importantly:

"All this results in the most authentic expression of the recorded information I've ever experienced, and gang, I've been doing this for over four decades. They deliver a host of tangible and captivating performance advantages, including their seemingly uninhibited speed of transmission, broadband, and their alluringly undeniable accuracy of pitch, their authentic sense of timbre and rightness of tone, combined with coherence, a dimensionality, a presence, a texture, and an immediacy that is so evocative of the live event. They are the paradigm of proper voicing, with an unswervingly musical accord, no band accentuated or minimized."


I have had 3 Audiogon members ping me for my opinion on these since I posted one time that they were the cat's pajamas a few months ago.

Can't wait for the IC's!!!

[TomS]

Fidelium speaker cable connection to Linear Tube Audio UltraLinear WBT binding posts - folded as 2 "U"'s on inner posts, folded as 2 opposite "L"'s on outside left and right posts


Fidelium speaker cable connection to Spatial Audio X5 WBT binding posts both folded as opposite "L"'s on left and right posts

[eichlerera1]

And here is a U-Tube review by the same reviewer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paPNUOhWPdA

[EkW]

Jeffrey Smith's patent application provides useful background to the design and hints at the alloy that he uses. some of the possible alloys include lead so anyone willing to buy a lead paint test kit should be able to confirm or rule out those alloys.

The basic idea behind the invention is that by using LOWER conductivity than copper metals propagation velocities can be made to be uniform across the audio band; i.e., no phase shift within the cable as a function of frequency.

I would like to try a pair but I have never spent over $100 for cables so $1000 is a big jump up rather than down for me. And my bank account is still recovering from new amps.

[eichlerera1]

Jeffrey Smith's patent application provides useful background to the design and hints at the alloy that he uses. some of the possible alloys include lead so anyone willing to buy a lead paint test kit should be able to confirm or rule out those alloys.

The basic idea behind the invention is that by using LOWER conductivity than copper metals propagation velocities can be made to be uniform across the audio band; i.e., no phase shift within the cable as a function of frequency.

I would like to try a pair but I have never spent over $100 for cables so $1000 is a big jump up rather than down for me. And my bank account is still recovering from new amps.

Remember that there is a 30-day trial period!
It's free to try.
I suspect that after having them in your system a couple of weeks, you'll find a way to come up with the dough.
They are like no other cable I've ever experienced...

[Jon L]

The basic idea behind the invention is that by using LOWER conductivity than copper metals propagation velocities can be made to be uniform across the audio band; i.e., no phase shift within the cable as a function of frequency.

The famous Magnan signature interconnects used non-metallic conductive coating on teflon ribbons with very high 30,000 Ohm resistance.  By all accounts, this cable sounded very good.

We patiently await Fidelium interconnects 

[Big Red Machine]

While I'm awaiting my new preamp and amp and dismantling my Wilsons, I took advantage of the downtime to modify my cable lifts to better control the routing of my Fideliums.







We'll see how well this works sometime later this week.

[ric]

If you made those you might be interested in a DIY Shakti Hallowgraph.
https://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.html?forum=tweaks&n=148747&highlight=hallograph+link&search_url=%2Fcgi%2Fsearch.mpl%3Fsearchtext%3Dhallograph%2Blink%26b%3DAND%26topic%3D%26topics_only%3DN%26author%3D%26date1%3D%26date2%3D%26slowmessage%3D%26sort%3Dscore%26sortOrder%3DDESC%26forum%3Dtweaks

[DavidKesner]

So here are my cable lifters that go between my Pass Labs INT-250 and my GoldenEar Triton Reference speakers. I had a local glass artist make them and each one is as much an art piece as functional. Please forgive the wire clutter as I am in the process of upgrading some components.