The silver cables of Kond/Audio Note Japan which kept on leading the world's criteria on "sound quality of cables" have at least reached the ideal quality level with smoother sound, least distortion and superiority in separation to minute signals. All Kondo silver wire manufactured by Audio Note Japan is 99.99% pure silver coated with six coats of a special polyurethane varnish applied immediately after drawing. This prevents oxidation and provides mechanical surface damping of the proper 'Q'. The wire is then age annealed to enhance the crystal boundary chemistry. Remember that the music signal has an electro-chemical component. A/C current causes chemical changes in the wire alloy. Age annealed copper and silver wires have a purer and gentler sound than the hot or cold or chemically annealed wires. Audio Note is the only audio manufacturer to use this expensive age annealing process to make their wire.