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Wet speaker cables

I just endured a basement flood in which my PAD Proteus were soaked with water. The terminations are okay, but the body of the cable is damp. I called my local dealer and they recommended that they check them out first before I elect to re-insert them into my system. I just wanted to post this here to determine if anyone has experienced this previously. More specifically, I was wondering if the cables will need replacing.
adamg
adamg OP
89 posts
 
Thanks for the replies. BTW, this is my 6th basement flood in 4 years. Noboby has a solution. The utopias and the equipment are elevated and should be fine. However, the PADs are soaked along with my Tara Labs PCs I should emphasize that the ends are fine. Its the thick part of the cable that got soaked and I'm not sure if that will penetrate into the metal core. I am so miserable without my system.
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
As an alternative to having the dealer test them consider buying a multimeter, and testing them yourself for shorts and opens. If you do that, while holding the test leads in place for each test have someone else manipulate the cables, to make sure that there are no marginal shorts or opens that may show up momentarily as the cable is being manipulated.

After they have dried out thoroughly, and if there are no shorts or opens, give them a try. My guess is that they will perform as well as ever. Keep in mind, of course, that after all of the downtime other parts of the system may need a substantial amount of time and use for warmup and/or re-breakin.

Regards,
-- Al
sksos1
387 posts
 
I'd send PAD an e-mail (or call them) and ask their thoughts they should be the experts.
BTW it's the same speaker cable I use and love them!

(Dealer disclaimer)
adamg OP
89 posts
 
Thanks Sksos - it had just occurred to me last night to contact PAD directly. I've gone through about eight speaker cables and none have compared to PAD.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,232 posts
 
No first hand experience with this cable, but from looking at pictures I don't see how letting them stand in water (assuming no chemical contamination) will hurt them or effect performance. As long as the terminated ends weren't in the water you should be good to go.

If I were you I'd let them dry (apply no heat) and wire them up. If you want to be cautious, get a cable tester (<$100 at pro music stores) and test for shorts.

At a previous house we had repeated basement/water issues and the solution was to install a B-Dry interior perimeter drain system w/ sump pump. B-Dry is a proprietary system, but there are several competing systems.
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