Copper Vs. Aluminum Chassis Effect In The Audio Application

From many years ago, the audio industry has been using the copper material for the electronic enclosure. This said to be the best enclosure for the electronic inside and impacting to the audio quality.

The copper is the best conductive material, yet cheap enough if compares to the others exotics material such as silver or gold. Especially for the copper is the very best way to get minimum loss in voltage transfer through the long and wide surface area.

The problem with the copper material is not the cost of the material, but because the copper characteristic is corrode easily, then when using it for electronic chassis, the engineer has to deal with extra cost to protect and avoid this corrosion. This additional step makes the copper more shiny and elegant to look at, yet withstand for long period of time.

So in this post is not just about theory. I will witness the effect of the copper chassis compares to the previously using the aluminum chassis.

Stay reading.

Top of the line audio components mostly using copper based material for their chassis. Some of them using the copper material only for covering specific components module. This application mostly found in CD player, DAC and pre-amplifier. For example you can see the copper case in HDAM components in every Marantz CD player.

What I heard is the copper has electrical effect that blocking noise better than others materials. Copper also has some effect that I think I am not capable to explain it because I am not an expert on it anyway. 

Other material such as steel is also good for chassis, but it will look cheap. The aluminum is also very common now days for chassis material. Aluminum are cheaper than copper for sure and copper has something that others material cannot give in the audio application.

In this test, I using my DIY vacuum tube headphones amplifier here which previously I put inside copper chassis, then I will change the chassis to the aluminum material.

My previous audio project are mostly using aluminum material for chassis. This aluminum as electronic chassis are comes in many dimension. It is also thick enough to become a heat-sink for audio components.

So, since I am quite familiar with the sound from this vacuum tube hybrid headphone amplifier and because mostly I listen my headphones from this amplifier quite often, so when I changing the chassis from copper to aluminum, I will easily spot any impact to the sound quality.

Changing the it is very easy. It is just like you change your shirt. It only takes not more than an hours and I am back to listen the same amplifier again, without any others changes except the changes from different chassis material.

My own disclaimer, I could subjectively and assume that copper is better. I also can just saying they are actually no difference in term of sound improvements between both of them. But from my early listening test, this chassis material changed how they sound significantly.

My first listening impression with the new aluminum chassis is the background noise not as quiet as previously using the copper material. This background noise is different with idle hum noise, although I also experience much lower idle hum noise with copper instead of aluminum chassis material.

The background noise is the listener experience from feeling the depth of the sound-stage. This seems the stages creates darker background. This benefit will reveal the instruments and singer to pronounce more clearly.

Previously, using the copper chassis also give the bass more tight and impactful. This difference is recognize easily because in this aluminum chassis, I easily spot the missing of the bass nuance from this amplifier.

I remember in the old days, most people always determine the better audio should be have a better bass response. Quite funny to hear, but maybe they are correct after all. That is why the audio company at that time using this perspective to gimmick their new product to have better sound quality by give them more bass. Although those new product only playing in some EQ adjustment to lift the bass response, not the improving any components inside, but their idea are sold for sure. I talking to Sony with Mega-bass if you remember, or Alpine car audio with their Bass-engine. Out of topic, today Hi-Res Audio is also the same strategy by the way that emphasis on the high frequency and detail:)

So I think I already found the difference between copper and aluminum chassis. This copper case is really improving the sound quality by reducing the background noise better than aluminum and also effect to the bass response.

After all this material application in the hi-end audio components is not BS at all. Cheers.

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