Do speaker wires degrade over time ?

If the Transparent cables have network boxes, then there is very likely degradation, as the parts they use in the network boxes are shamelessly cheap and can degrade significantly over time.

More generally, if the shielding on IC's or speaker cables is intact and the conductors are not oxidizing, their sound actually tends to improve over time.

i just got a pair of custom made wire off ebay, i had a pair tributaries, silver coated sp 5f, no they were not 10 grand but anice set of cables about 10 years old, i thought were fine. took a chance and purchase these cables from Steven for less than $100. with shipping build quality was outstanding, and the sound for wires that cost way less than my tributaries, these wires are truly amazing, see them for your self on ebay the item # is 140500678089, no i am not selling them i just ordered them and like them so much just wanted to spread the word, and maybe just maybe they do degrade over time,

i just got a pair of custom made wire off ebay, i had a pair tributaries, silver coated sp 5f, no they were not 10 grand but anice set of cables about 10 years old, i thought were fine. took a chance and purchase these cables from Steven for less than $100. with shipping build quality was outstanding, and the sound for wires that cost way less than my tributaries, these wires are truly amazing, see them for your self on ebay the item # is 140500678089, no i am not selling them i just ordered them and like them so much just wanted to spread the word, and maybe just maybe they do degrade over time

I have a pair of biwire jumpers made from original Monster Cables 12 ga wire. They have a clear coat and you can see that the copper has turned a nice barf green (it did this in less than 5 yrs). These were terminated imediately and had soldered ends on them. If they hadn't been clear coated, I would have never known.

On the other hand, I have a 20+ yr old set of Straightwire TMC speaker cable that has a clear coat and you can see the copper is still as shiny as a new penny.

So, life expectancy? Who knows.

Makes me wonder about "black" stock power cables. What's going on inside them? Could this be why some people hear such a difference when they try an aftermarket one? Hmmmmm.

Yeah... by oxidation.

If the dialectric is in tact... the insulator isn't broken and revealign the naked conductors, you're in better shape, but even if all seems in tact, without breaks, cracks, etc., along the way you will still not escape the oxidation process.

but just think glaciers. the process routinely is about that slow, and as enescapable. just clean that which is immediately exposed to the air... now and then. Twice a year?. Monthly? it's up to you.

If I were in the worrying mood.... I'd worry about gas prices instead.

It is a run of transparent audio for around $225.00

Well if it was equipment, I might consider it, but It's cabling and it's 30 year old technology!! If you can get it in the price range of free to $25, I would do it.

Entropy - the universe tends toward maximum disorder. IOW, everything falls apart.

There is a life expectancy for everything, including cables. It may be thousands of years, but eventually they will degrade down to nearly nothing...

I have noticed a fair amount of corrosion as my cables have exposed wire (in a high humidity environment) so I would advise you to check on the condition of the terminations. Also, check on the condition of the sleeve or outer sheath which could be symptomatic of damage to the wire.

As you know the messenger particle for all electromagnetic forces is the virtual photon. My extensive research into this question had led me to the discovery of an effect which I call "Photon Fatigue" in which the wires simply get tired of letting the little buggers slide down them. But fear not , I am on the edge of a breakthrough which will completely eliminate this problem and make me a lot of money from people who worry about such questions; I will put you on my mailing list.