Will your cables live FOREVER?

Nothing lives forever. Ends will break off, metal will oxidize, plastic will get brittle and discolored. Proper maintenance and repair will get you through your lifetime though. It is probably a moot point though, because no audiophile can go very long without changing everything around every few years.

Forever is a very long time indeed. Nothing lasts remotely as long... That being said, any well-constructed (not necessarily expensive) cable should last much longer than the active components connected to it if the cable is handled properly and not moved around too often.

Twl's "moot point" is right on, but it downplays the almost constant tweaking that the most obsessive-compulsive audio junkies are prone to do.

Not as long, being a member of Audiogon.

Heck, I'm taking mine with me.

I just sent back a pair of Cardas Helink Golden bi-wired speaker cables for new spades because they had oxidized. They looked and sounded great after their return. The big decision was did it pay to have them repaired or did it make sense to audition potential upgrades. I beleive that this is a point where some auditioning is a good idea. I just happened to make the decision that I liked what I had.

SURE!

But I won't.

I've found it best to worry about my lifetime not my equipment's.

WHAT, me worry???

Bill E.

Too much merit been given to crimped or barewire compression "solderless" type lug joints for speaker cables.
In high humidity zones where i live, my bi-wired solid cored, AudioQuest Slate's original crimped lugs lasted only 1 month after unpacking. I discovered the defect accidentally. Heard a "rasping" noise when i touched a wire near a lug. The local agent was willing to change to a new set of cable. Not taking any chances with crimped lugs anymore, i reworked all joints to silver-filled soldered lugs & bananas.

Dogpile, to answer your question - Cables themselves hi-end or not will outlast all of us if they are put through normal use and not mechanically abused by frequent bending and twisting. Same for welded joints. Soldered cable joints need periodic checks for oxidation and resolder if necessary. A crimped joint is more suited for fine stranded multicore conductor, properly cleaned to start with. Crimped joint is mechanically not suitable for a solid core conductor. Its lifespan in my case, is about a month in high humidity condition. Need frequent "rasping" noise checks.