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Tweakers' Asylum: REVIEW: Kester Sn05Ag05 Silver Solder 24-7070-0027 Other by Todd Krieger

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REVIEW: Kester Sn05Ag05 Silver Solder 24-7070-0027 Other Review by Todd Krieger at Audio Asylum

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For a long time, I thought alloy composition alone was what determined the sonic character of solder, and I did not necessarily think the highest-conductivity (Sn95Ag05) alloys sounded the best, even though they should have in theory. In fact, they often sounded the worst, making the music lifeless and brittle.

Recently, I was touting a copper ternary solder as being the best for audio- it was not "dead" like lead-based solders, yet it wasn't totally "threadbare" or "brittle" like some lead-free types. John Risch then recommended trying the Kester "44" flux core solders, and I preferred these lead-based solders even over the ternary type I used and liked. It was apparent that the Kester "44" activated rosin core was doing something with the solder bond that resulted in less sonic degradation than other activated rosin cores.

Later on, I was fortunate to get a hold of a Kester lead-free Sn95Ag05 solder wire on eBay, which had the "44" RA core. Just to see if the "44" core would make a difference even with the alloy which often sounded cold to me in the past. And what the "44" core did with this alloy was a revelation. Transparent and **listenable**, with **none** of the brittle, threadbare character I would normally associate with lead-free solder. It almost sounds as if some amp stages were removed from the system. Not only would this particular core/alloy solder be the ultimate for DIY tube projects, it has also raised some old solid state pieces from the dead.

The only requisite for using this solder is one must have an iron which can deal with solder that melts at 450 degrees F. And one must be **very** careful when soldering parts which have a tendency to melt or physically distort when such heat is applied. (For example, an RCA plug should be plugged into a socket when soldering, or the dielectric around the center pin could melt and result in the pin drifting off-center.) If you can take these precautions before doing your solder work (and the tinned tip, clean tip, cleaned surfaces, etc.), you will get superior results with your upgrades and DIY projects.


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Topic - REVIEW: Kester Sn05Ag05 Silver Solder 24-7070-0027 Other Review by Todd Krieger at Audio Asylum - Todd Krieger 15:40:02 05/19/01 ( 6)