Do Cables Wear Out?

Jwpstayman: If you want to respond substantively to a question, you first need to pay attention to the question. He wasn't asking if cables degrade over time; everything in the universe degrades over time. He was asking if particle breakdown occurs, and if loud rock music makes it occur faster. And it doesn't.

As for oxidation, this is a trivial problem. Oxidation occurs ver-r-ry slowly, except for the small section of the cable (if any) that's exposed to air. I have 25-year-old lampcord (which I once used as speaker cable!) that shows no visible signs of oxidation within the insulation, The exposed ends have oxidized--EXCEPT where they were in direct contact with speaker and amp terminals. This tiny bit of oxidation has a trivial effect on overall resistance.

Pabelson, all commentary on breakdown that serves to inform us hi-fi buyer's of drawbacks should not be frowned on. We all spend large amounts of $$$ to get our systems to sound great so in regards to Jwpstayman answer I feel it is welcome. I admit a niave understanding to the world of cable and it's properties of longevity and input to edify and give one's opinion should be welcomed, even those here to scoff.

It's good to see there's still some humor around this hobby.

Spl, not all commentary on breakdown or other issues, comical or not, serves us IF the comments are incorrect or misleading. Pabelson's comments are correct. BTW, Jwpstayman, silver oxide IS NOT a good conductor, but it does serve to protect the rest of the silver from corrosion, which is not true of cuprous oxide which just continues to grow if still exposed to air. The inner core is not exposed to air and therefore no corrosion happens and no corrosion happens at the outside of the copper wire either if it is insulated.
Cleaning the silver oxide on contacts is beneficial as it is on copper contacts.
Bob P.

I knew that my diatribe would start some controversy. BobP needs to llok at a chart of elements and electrical characteristics thereof - silver oxide is a better conductor than copper. He should also refrain from making comments like "no corrosion happen at the outside of wire if it is insulated". This is completely untrue - I tried to explain in some detail that oxidation starts immediately on the surface of the copper wire when the raw conductors are pulled and only coatings like enamal(Litz) are able to slow this process down significantly. To comment that insulation ( which in cable-talk is called dielectic) "cures" this process is completely false and misleading. No cable company that I am aware of vacuum seals their cables to prevent oxidation - it just isn't a good resolution for the problem. In my experience ( and I have a LOT), most non-litz-coated copper wire will have some audible effects from oxidation of the copper somewhere around the 6-7th year after being manufactured. For those that took the time to read these posts- I hope that my time in writing them was worthwhile for you.