2. cables
  3. 183318-118749

Oxidation on surface of cable under clear jacket

Wondered if anyone has had this problem.  I have a pair of “Oval” cables I was going to reintroduce into my system.  They’re 15 years old.  I noticed that green oxidation had formed over a length of the cable under the clear jacket.  Since there is shrink tubing over the spade connector, so I can’t tell if the oxidation has reached the connector.  Problem is the manufacturer’s warranty was over many years ago.  They weren’t inexpensive. Seems others have had the same issue.  I guess I’ll give them a call to see what can be done, but I’m not optimistic.  I do have another manufacturer’s cables I can use if this can’t be remedied.. Your thoughts?

deanrk
deanrk OP
17 posts
 

61falcon. I lived in northern VA. Summer humidity could get high, but home was air conditioned, so I doubt high humidity had anything to do with it.  

Felixa I will put them back into my system and give a listen.  AND I have a pair of Kimber Kable 12 TC (much newer) that I will compare them to, to see which I prefer.

thespeakerdude
483 posts
 

I have 30+ year old cheap 10 and 12 awg speaker cables lying around, clear insulation, not a hint of oxidation, and I had some cheap 18 awg that was maybe 10 years old that looked like it was outside from day 1.

My understanding is the material and quality of the insulation determines how much oxygen gets in, which seems pretty obvious, but also good OFC should oxidize slower.

Quick Google says the oxide probably 10's of nanometers thick. I don't see that making a big difference to the conductivity. I would be more worried about the connectors. If they are soldered they will be fine. If they are a good quality crimp they should be okay too. Anything else could be trouble.

winoguy17
1,083 posts
 

Picture 5 of 9Seen it worse than this ....

deanrk OP
17 posts
 

Winoguy17 yup Mine are worse than that, but that’s it!  And I think as your picture shows, the clear sheathing may be pulled over the copper conductor which allow air infiltration and oxidation to take place.  But when I set up my system in our new house (another post for another time!), I’ll give the Oval 9s and the Kimber 12 TCs a listen to see which I prefer.

almosthome
40 posts
 

So does changing the coating/cover to opaque solve the issue, or hide it?

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