Do cables age or become too old at any point?

Perfect, what would happen if you stacked a copper plate on top of a zinc plate using a peeled potato between them as dielectric ? Inquiring minds want to know : ) Sean
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All copper oxidizes with age. This is pretty easy to tell though, as if it is still relatively shiny, it's still "fresh". When it is getting darker and loses brilliance, it is time to either replace or reterminate. Sean
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Sugar, have you ever looked at the color of the copper in some clear jacketed "monster" type cables after a few years and compared this to brand new cable ? It is definitely darker. Some of this has to do with the type of materials used within the jacket itself though. The plasticizers in the jacket tend to "leak out" and taint the conductors. One would have to use what is called a Type II mil-spec jacket to alleviate this type of problem. Even then, corrosion would set in over time as nothing that is man-made will last forever. For all practical purposes, this would take a LONG time though, especially if the open ends of the cable were properly prepped i.e. "sealed".

I do agree that wire that is exposed will tarnish FAR, FAR faster than wire that is protected, especially when exposed to varying levels of humidity. Sean
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Sugar, you're missing the point. It is NOT a matter of whether the cable is "air tight". For one thing, it would be next to impossible to achieve without DRASTICALLY raising the cost. Nor does it really matter how tightly the stranding is compacted within the jacket. It is a matter of the materials used as the insulator and the degradation that the JACKET undergoes with time. If you don't believe this, contact Belden or any other manufacturer of cables.

If one has the proper test equipment ( TDR aka Time Domain Reflectometer ), you can also measure the electrical characteristics of cables and compare new samples to old samples. The impedance characteristics, levels of dielectric absorption, velocity factors, etc... of cables DO change over time, albeit very gradually. These rates can be accelerated by exposing the cables to various levels of direct sunlight, fluxuating temperatures, different levels of applied pressure, etc...

Besides that, the originator of the thread made no mention of price range. With that in mind, we all know that a LOT of cables are simply "dressed up" versions of mass produced cables. As such, the "KLH" vs "Mark Levinson" pricing analogy has little to do with "you get what you pay for" i.e. "quality" when it comes to cables.

While one would hope that more expensive cables from a reputable brand made use of better quality materials and had a greater amount of research and development in them than cheaper cables from some generic company, there really is no guarantee of that unless specified as such. Even then, i've seen companies PURPOSELY mis-label products so that they could charge more for them even though they knew that they would not meet spec. Since the average end user would have no way of verifying spec, they get away with it 99% of the time.

Like anything else, let the buyer beware. Sean
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PS... I've bought and used many older cables. So long as they make a good connection and sound good to your ears with no potential for damage to your equipment, i would not worry about it. I was "debating" from a purely technical standpoint.

Sugar, once again you bring up some good points and this thread is expanding in a "good" way.

I also agree with your comments concerning technology advancements and the increased quality of materials used in the production of wires / cables. Only problem is, how much of what "scientists" know about dielectric materials is actually being applied to the products that we as audiophiles are buying ? We are told that Teflon is "king". Is that really true ?

As to silver corroding, silver oxide is supposedly highly conductive ( from what i've been told ). As to your comments on gold, i have no idea. I am far from knowledgeable when it comes to metallurgy. However, i do have to wonder what happens to both of these materials ( along with copper ) when exposed to other materials such as the dielectric that is decaying ? Is there some type of "chemical reaction" between the metal and plastics that causes surface decay / increased skin effect ? I have NO idea.

As i mentioned, the only way to get around this type of problem is to use what is called a "non-contaminating" or "Type II" dielectric material. This boils down to the fact that the plastics being used to make the jacket are of a stable molecular structure ond don't "bleed" over time. I don't know if this is applicable to Teflon or not.

I've been told that using a foil shield between the conductors and the outer jacket helps drastically reduce the effects of plasticizer migration from the outer jacket into the conductors though. The foil simply acts as a "barrier shield". Even doing that would not solve the problem as individual stranding would still need some type of insulation to keep from shorting out internally. As such, the wires would still be surrounded by some type of dielectric that was susceptible to "plasticizer migration".

I think that enameled wire is looking better and better the longer that this thread continues : ) Sean
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