Yeah right , all others need an alloy to machine and use it as a connector , but bocchinno has somehow managed it , what you think will happen to a solid copperconnector , even if you would magically be able to machine it, the thread would be useless after a couple of tightenings .
The only " research " that is mentioned is about general conductivity of copper copper alloys .
Ah audiophiles, i didnt take them serious already long time ago lol
It's not that copper is impossible to machine, this depends on different factors such as what process and what state the copper is in, for example fully annealed copper is too soft to do much of anything with but you wouldn't use fully annealed copper anyways. Other companies like Furutech offer pure copper connectors that have some machining done, mainly UPOCC copper which is comes out of the process as a much harder material vs annealed copper. The UPOCC copper spades have set-screw connections that are hard enough to work without stripping the threads extremely easily, of course you do need to use some care. Most companies that claim "pure" copper like Cardas and many others are actually Tellurium Copper alloy which is >99% copper but it isn't pure. It is the best material to use if value is a concern though as common machining processes can be used.
Bocchino may be willing to use much slower machine processes that wouldn't be considered outside the high prices that high-end audio is able to charge as well, so there is that too, his connectors are very expensive so he can choose to use inefficient processes.
On IACS, 100% conductivity is arbitrarily assigned to ETP copper which is commonly used for AC power wiring. ETP copper is a grade below OFC copper, which is a grade below UPOCC copper, and these have >%100 IACS ratings as a result. Silver is around 103% and UPOCC silver maybe as high as 105%.
On how conductivity relates to sound, this is where things become murky... higher IACS does not always equal better sound. Also, platings reduce conductivity as they are meant to prevent corrosion, and conductivity of platings has little to do with how they sound. Gold is much more conductive vs rhodium but it's hard to argue that it sounds better as it clearly loses resolution vs rhodium and the platinum plating that the silver WBT connectors use. Some may think unplated connectors are best but then you have the possibility of corrosion and you'll need to use some sort of material to protect the metal like Caig progold or whatever to prevent it, and this will also have an effect on the sound just like plating will. If the base material is allowed to corrode the corrosion can get in between the crystal boundaries and penetrate into the metal so IMO unplated connectors are really not a good idea. There is the real possibility that sound quality will deteriorate with age!
Anytime somebody points to a simple measurement like conductivity or capacitance or whatever to "prove" his product is best is usually completely misguided IME. Life is just never that simple.
