On Sun, 25 Jun 2006 22:02:16 -0400, "Paul E. Schoen" Gave us:
Silver cladding and electroplating is commonly used in High power, high frequency transmitter circuitry on coils, etc.
Remember "skin effect"?
A manufacturer would not spend more money (or a consumer for that matter) on plating something in silver if there wasn't truly a major electrical engineering benefit derived from it. A fine example is HF tank circuits. It is used in teflon wire manufacture because it tins VERY EASILY and mil spec and NASA LIKE THAT FACT.
Ever try to tin TPC PTFE wire? IT SUCKS! The teflon does something to the tin, and it refuses to wet unless the hottest conditions are provided, and that is not good.
Good thing we have highly activated fluxes to work with.
I'll still take silver plating over tin or bare copper ANY DAY.
Won't see it much in mag wire as magnet wire makers feel that the largest usage of their product is low frequency power transformation, and semi-HF switcher transformation. Litz helps in power transformers, but silver plating doesn't seem to do much for low turn count applications. The litz is the right stuff though, because all the "skin" surface area available is increased. Essentially, one gets more wire than one bargains for. :-]
Variable gauge, high wire count Litz configurations would be the ideal speaker feed.