[rosconey]

any one have any experience with a interconect made from a gold based wire
i just won a pair of these off ebay-
http://www.auralthrillsaudio.com/TG%201000.htm

no i didnt pay near that amount- 120$

[JoshK]

I'm really curious about these.  Some really dig the sound of gold but as a metal it has poor conductivity which flies in the face of what you would rationally (or so I presume) you would want for an IC conductor.

[markC]

.....Some really dig the sound of gold but as a metal it has poor conductivity which flies in the face of what you would rationally (or so I presume) you would want for an IC conductor......
Gold has a poor conductivity? It is better than copper, it is better than silver, it has one of the best conductivity ratings going; oh, I think platinum may be better!

[pjchappy]

Yes, gold is a poor conductor. . .

copper and silver are MUCH bettter. . .silver being the best. . .

http://www.amm.com/index2.htm?/ref/conduct.HTM

p

[Robert C. Schult]

Hi rosconey.

Well, you already bought them so simply trust your ears when you get them and you judge.

Typically, in a broad sense, gold conductors are good for taming a system that's on the bright side or if one preferes a more polite, smoother type presentation from their system.

The attractive thing with gold in it's drawn state is that it's crystal structure is more compact than copper or silver. Think dense...that would be a simple way to put it. Other than that, there are no real benefits to gold. The crystal compactness of gold can be accomplished in copper or silver but it requires additional processing and someone who knows what they're doing.  Purity and quality issues should be considered just as in copper or silver.

Hope that helps and for the $120.00 you spent, it will be good if they're keepers in your rig.

BTW, I know one chap who claims great synergy because he also has gold fillings in his teeth and his wedding band is gold. Somehow, he just feels very connected .

[Jon L]

any one have any experience with a interconect made from a gold based wire
i just won a pair of these off ebay-
http://www.auralthrillsaudio.com/TG%201000.htm

no i didnt pay near that amount- 120$

Aural Thrills Audio is an interesting company.  As far as I can tell, their products are legitimate.  They started with Ubyte-2 speaker cables (with agreements with Thorsten).  I have made many Ubyte-2 type cables (some with silver foil) and can attest to the effectiveness of cross-connecting.  

I've recently been making interconnects and power cords using Z-squred Audio's 22 AWG gold/silver/copper alloy with 24K gold-plating.  I don't think this is the same wire as Aural thrills, but with the wire I have, I can get some amazing sounds.  If you make short runs with this alloy, in air/loose teflon, and use Eichmann silver bullets, you can get some seriously-good sounding IC's.  Powr cords also have a very special quality, but I'm still working on the best shielding scheme.  

Unfortunately, the IC you won looks like it's using WBT midline RCA's and I don't know if they are using tight teflon (bad).  

One interesting option is that they offer "active shielding" option retrofit.  I can tell you from the active shielding /battery box on my Omega Mikro power cord, that you may want to get this "upgrade" for this IC you won.  Cheers!

[audioengr]

As it turns-out, the conductivity of the wire has little to do with the sound of interconnects.  This is because the signals are low-level and the currents extremely small.  The fields are composed primarily of electric fields, not magnetic.  Therefore, the material characteristics that affect electric fields are more important, such as charge storage, capacitance, skin-effect etc..

[rosconey]

i recieved these today -they sound very very very very nice-
dont know if its the wbt connectors or the gold wire(very very thin 28ga, in a air tube not tight)-i am very happy

my 60$ toshiba dvd sounds like a  turn table-smooth as anolog

     

[Oxia]

Congrats, rosconey.  I picked up some gold alloy ICs from audiogon too a few months ago, from W Enterprises. I don't have any direct experience with pure gold cables, but these gold alloy cables seem to have the best of all worlds: the air, sheen and detail of silver, with the robust bass and fleshed-out midrange of the finest copper. Add to that an ineffable quality of refinement, and that's what you get with this truly sublime cable.