Why silver? Unlike copper oxide that tarnishes over time and reduces conductivity, silver oxide is still conductive; keeping it in oxygen-free cable will reduce any long-term change. SC-Silver Stage is oxygen-free cable and uses tightly and concentrically stranded copper wire that is refined and coated with a silver alloy.

I asked for an extra long piece of SC-Silver Stage because I wanted to make a very special microphone cable I could pack with me to any studio or remote recording session. This cable would connect the microphone directly to the XLR input of the microphone preamp directly--no extension cables, no patch bay, and no studio mic panel. Here, I am looking for the most pristine connection possible without noise.

I received a 12-meter length and a pair of Neutrik XLR connectors. Sommer also makes their own HICON audio connectors as well as a ready-to-use line of cables plus their custom shop will make any set(s) of cables in any length you would desire.

Making my own SC-Silver Stage mic cable was easy--the wire is flexible, tough and lays flat on the floor without curling, kinking or knotting. The wires are easy to solder but are not Star Quad pairs. The outer jacket is thick temperature-resistant PVC and I measured very low DC resistance for this 40-ft cable. I compared a Canare 4-LE6S Star Quad cable that was half the length of the Sommer and immediately heard a difference in the openness of the sound coming from my Bock U195 condenser microphone.

I also tried this same cable as an AES/EBU cable from my Pro Tools digital out to my Avocet IIA monitor controller. I could hear no difference between it and a 1-meter long Mogami #3080 digital cable used inside my rack.