Do Cables Wear Out?

By the way, the tarnish that forms on silver is sulfide not oxide.

http://educ.queensu.ca/~science/main/concept/chem/c03/C03DEEA1.htm

Scroll down to "EXPLANATION".

OK, JWP, tell us how much the measured resistance of 8 feet of 12 AWG speaker wire changes over 7 years. You've made the claim, and you've told us you have a LOT of experience, so show us what you've got.

By the way, litz is not a coating but rather a type of wire configuration composed of a bundle of smaller wires, each coated or not.

http://www.litz-wire.com/

JWP, just because you are older than me (you have a lot of experience) doesn't mean that you understand oxidation nor corrosion in metals. Silver oxide or sulphide which someone thoughtfully pointed out might conduct better than copper, but not better than silver. Insulated wire is not exposed to the atmosphere and thus does not coorode there, but at the exposed ends. I too would like to know the increase in resistance in a piece of wire after 10 years.
Salut, Bob P.

BobP - I never said that the resistance of copper conductors changed over time - go back and re-read my comments. I said that the surface of the copper conductors OXIDIZED over time and that this created several sonic "losses" in the cable compared to when that cable was first made. As for Kenyonbm, thanks for the link, but in the AUDIO cable business, "Litz" wire has been generally accepted to mean coated or enamaled wire- sort of the same way Kleenex is generally accepted as being a tissue The link was kinda interesting tho in a global sort of way. Look - I responded to the initial question and explained what was going on and why because of my experience. If some of you want to get into endless nit-picking, like whether or not a cables jacket and heat shrink prevent oxidation (it doesn't, but it does slow it down ), be my guest - knock yourselves out, have fun, enjoy... I suppose this is why some very knowledgable people now no longer bother trying to help others in the hobby.