Audio Systems: pure silver speaker wire, proper gauge, objective measurements

Question
for speaker wire,my friend is running 2 single strands (24 gauge) of pure silver.with a cotton tube shielding.
Is that better than high ended speaker wire??

p.s.i was told that the more fine strands you have the better the quality.

         thanks,Martin

Answer
Using exotic speaker wires is a sort of myth developed over the years by engineers and audiophiles who have concocted stories about how it makes the sound quality superior over conventional wiring.  It is pretty much a myth.  

I have personally conducted listening tests comparing various types of high-end wires versus zip cord and various other types of inexpensive wires.  At the same time objective measurements were taken to see if there were differences that could be seen using state-of-the-art measuring instruments.  

The conclusion is that with conventional lengths of less than 20 feet there are no audible differences nor measurable difference to be found.  The scientific principle is that the resistance of the wire is the determining factor.  If the wire - what ever material is used - contributes a significant resistance in relation to the impedance of the speaker system it may have a deteriorating effect on the speakers audible performance.  But, the electrical resistance of a good grade 16 or 14 gauge wire is extremely low compared with the resistance of the internal circuitry of the amplifier and the impedance of the speaker.  

The strands have nothing to do with it except that in general the more strands for a given gauge the slightly lower resistance it will have but the difference is not measurable with reasonable length wires of proper gauge.

One of my experiments in the audio sound room was to use electrical 18 gauge zip wire from the local hardware store of 30 feet and compare it against a well known expensive 15 foot length with a pair of high end speakers from Australia.  (We actually tried several different pairs of speakers) and the listening panel consisting of secretaries, engineers, audio enthusiasts and a couple of "golden ear" magazine reviewers and in a blind test no one could detect the difference in sound between the two wires.

So goes the mythology of speaker wires.

PS:  The story changes dramatically when the speaker wires get long such as 100 or 200 feet because the resistance gets so high.  The effect, by the way, when resistance does get noticeable is a change in the low frequency character of the sound due to a change in the damping factor which is brought about by the higher resistance in series with the speaker impedance.