The mysteries of Zaolla Silverline have been around since 1997. Below is a list of frequently asked questions for your reference. If you find that your question is not answered here, please write to us using the Contact Us page or give us a call during our regular hours of operation.
Why is Zaolla Silverline so expensive?
Why does Zaolla Silverline use solid, pure-silver conductors rather than oxygen-free copper center conductors
If silver is superior to copper as a conductor, why does Zaolla Silverline use both?
Will solid, pure-silver conductors make my instrument sound excessively bright?
Why do you use polyethylene dielectrics rather than Teflon dielectrics? Isn't Teflon a superior dielectric?
Why don't you post test results on your website?
What is the best length to buy?
Can I use just one Zaolla Silverline cable or do I have to replace all of the cables in my rig?
What about pedal boards?
Which part of the signal chain is most important when using effects gear?
Will I have to reset my usual knob and tone positions when using Zaolla Silverline?
What happens if something breaks or shorts out?
What about digital? How does Zaolla improve digital transfers?
Can I hear the difference between this and my _____ cable?
Can I run analog audio longer with silver?
Why is Zaolla Silverline so expensive?
Silver is expensive! Solid, pure silver is still more expensive! We pay close attention to detail in an effort to eliminate needless expense. In fact, copper cables featuring hyper-advanced technologies cost as much—if not more—than Zaolla Silverline, so we believe our cables to be an unrivaled value.
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Why does Zaolla Silverline use solid, pure-silver conductors rather than oxygen-free copper center conductors?
Silver (Ag) is the most conductive metal on Earth. It is 7% less resistant than copper (Cu), the second most conductive metal on Earth. This may seem slight, but the results are undeniable. Due to the conductive properties of silver, signals reach their destination with little change from how they began. You won’t lose high or low frequencies traditionally lost due to the resistance in copper cables. Zaolla Silverline strives to provide the best signal transfer possible—and silver is the best way to achieve that goal.
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If silver is superior to copper as a conductor, why does Zaolla Silverline use both?
While it is true that silver is superior to copper as a pure conductor of electricity, this is not to say that silver alone is suitable for every application. If it was that easy, we could simply replace copper with silver and be done with it. Low-level analog audio signals benefit from the mid-frequency boost, or "warmth," associated with copper. Thus, all Zaolla Silverline instrument, microphone, and unbalanced interconnect cables feature a solid-silver center conductor and an enamel-coated, stranded-copper ancillary conductor in a unique hybrid configuration for the best of both worlds.
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Will solid, pure-silver conductors make my instrument sound excessively bright?
All else being equal, a cable with a silver conductor will sound brighter than a cable with a copper conductor. Whether this is heard as “sparkling highs” or excessive brightness is a matter of myriad factors, including personal taste. For applications in which this is a proven issue, Zaolla Silverline utilizes stranded, pure-copper ancillary conductors to boost the midrange and flatten frequency response.
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Why do you use polyethylene dielectrics rather than Teflon dielectrics? Isn’t Teflon a superior dielectric?
Teflon combines a low dielectric constant (2.0) with high rigidity, making it ideal for applications in which vibration is a concern, like guitar amplifiers. Polyethylene (PE) has a nominally higher dielectric constant (2.2), but it is much more flexible than Teflon, making it the superior dielectric for cables. Injecting gas into PE causes air bubbles in the material resulting in Foamed PE (FPR), which has a still lower dielectric constant (air has a dielectric constant of 1).
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Why don’t you post test results on your website?
We believe that the cable you use to interconnect your gear has as much to do with your sound as your gear itself. Given this fact, we feel it is better for you to actually test our cable with your gear. In addition, conventional test results lack context for the unique conductive properties of silver, rendering any test-based comparison largely meaningless.
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What is the best length to buy?
The longer your cable, the more your signal will be attenuated. This is as true for silver as it is for any other conductor. Ideally your cable should be as short as possible, so it is therefore necessary to strike a balance between length and functionality. You should give yourself enough length to move freely in your environment. If in doubt, err on the side of longer. You can always coil a long cable, but you can’t lengthen a short one.
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Can I use just one Zaolla Silverline cable or do I have to replace all of the cables in my rig?
The general rule is to use the same brand of cable from source to destination. If you must prioritize, we recommend you do so as follows:
- 1. Source to first processor
- 2. Last processor to amplifier
- 3. Between processors
- 4. Amplifier to speaker
The two factors behind this prioritization are signal level and cable length. Low-level signals, like electric guitar or hi-fi signals, benefit most from improved conductivity. So if you have to replace only one, begin with the source and upgrade from there.
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What about pedal boards?
Zaolla Silverline affords myriad tonal benefits over copper cable. Many of these benefits are lost as soon as your signal transfers from Zaolla Silverline to copper in your signal chain. While you will certainly benefit from upgrading the cables to and from your pedal board, upgrading the cables on your pedal board will be like lifting a veil from your tone.
Attenuation is directly proportional to the length of a signal chain, whether the signal chain consists of a single cable or many cables. This means that the length of the cables on your pedal board contribute directly to the attenuation of your signal. If you have already upgraded the cables to and from your pedal board, your pedal board should be next.
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Which part of the signal chain is most important when using effects gear?
The most important link in your signal chain is that from the source to the first processor. Be it an electric bass or a turntable, the signal from the source to the first processor should be your priority. The signal from the last processor to your amplifier should be second. Between processors, the signal carried by the longest length of cable should be third.
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Will I have to reset my usual knob and tone positions when using Zaolla Silverline?
It depends upon your combination of instrument and amplifier. Many classic guitar rigs require a particular type of cable for attenuation. If your guitar has strong high-frequency output and your amplifier accentuates that output, you may need to decrease the tone on one or the other to curb the “ice pick” effect. Conversely, if your instrument and amplifier are well matched, then you may want to adjust the tone on your guitar to illicit the myriad musical nuances afforded to you by Zaolla Silverline.
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What happens if something breaks or shorts out?
Zaolla Silverline cables are covered by a limited lifetime warranty. If your cable breaks, we’ll fix it. If we introduce a new connector, we’ll upgrade it (the cost of the new connector, a service fee, and return freight may apply). If a roadie drives a forklift over or drops a riser on it, that’s not covered, but we’ll do our best to terminate what’s left (again, fees may apply).
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What about digital? How does Zaolla improve digital transfers?
Silver actually benefits digital more than analog. Consider that silver is able to carry higher frequencies than copper. This advantage is manifest clearly in an analog signal—one can hear it! The frequencies of digital signals are much higher than those of analog signals, but one can neither see nor hear digital. So how does one experience the benefits of a silver data cable?
Bits are transmitted as a square wave. Attenuation (from capacitance), reflection (from impedance mismatch), and other phenomena can cause a square wave to become rounded. When this happens, the receiving device will fail to recognize the bit, resulting in an error. Errors are manifest as missing data—silence in an audio feed, a blank screen in a video feed, etc.
Consumers may tolerate data interruption of this nature. It happens all the time with satellite TV, but errors of this nature can be critical in pro applications. Fewer errors mean less time—and money—lost to retakes. It is for this reason that our 75-ohm coaxial cable should be the cable of choice for pro video (SDI), pro audio (word clock), and similar applications.
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Can I hear the difference between this and my _____ cable?
The difference between Zaolla Silverline and other cable brands is manifest by virtue of our utilization of pure-silver conductors. In general, silver affords Zaolla Silverline superior high-frequency conductivity and the perception of superior low-frequency conductivity by way of the extra headroom for overtones. Players will also feel it in their fingers as extra touch sensitivity.
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Can I run analog audio longer with silver?
All cable attenuates over a length of cable due to the effects of capacitance on the conductor. Capacitance affects a silver conductor noticeably less than it does a copper conductor, so you can run analog audio over long lengths of cable if your cable is Zaolla Silverline.
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