Life expectancy of Interconnects & Speaker Cable?

connectors can get dirty/corrode and may need cleaned.

In my oppinion (and others) cables will degrade over time. There will be oxidation over time, as no insulation is truely air tight (at least in the long run).
Also the more you move around with your cable, the more it will tend to "crack" between the crystals.
So what is average lifespan? According to VDH you should expect around 10 years.

Aarsoe....that's something to think about. Spend 5-10k on cable only to have an approximately 10 year expiration date.

For sure, amps and other items in the system would have a much longer life expectancy.

So, super expensive cables actually cost a lot more than their sticker price because in ten years or so they will need to be replaced because they will have degraded.

Mitch4T

Be honest - how many components do you still have in your setup that are more than 10 years old?
Anyway - assume 10 years for average cables, better ones could be double. In 10 years time or at least in 20, much better technology will exist, more vodoo or even new types of cables (HDMI and all the others that will follow).
If you have a "scrap" box, like I do, with old cables then try to take one that you used to use (but dont any longer) and try to listen. Did that with some old ones, and the sound was horrible..

I cannot say for sure if cables wear out , however if you have any Garden Hose cables {maybe even Power Cords } , if the are not properly braced , and hang at 90 degree angles, I believe the connectors can be easily stressed over time.