Based on my own observations, I think there is a life span to these products, but it does not have anything to do with how many hours a signal has passed through them, but instead, relates to how long they've been just sitting there -- whether in use, or not in use.
I have many pairs of cables that are closing in on the 20-year mark. Some still sound amazing, even compared to modern products. On the other hand, I have seen several cables (particularly old, 10 ga. Monster Cable speaker wire) turn green with oxidation. I'm not an electrical engineer, but that has got to have deleterious effect on the sound. Similarly, I have a pair of Van den Hul silver interconnects that started life with nice, translucent jackets, and clearly marked, red lettering that now have turned a weird gold color and the lettering has oozed together and a faded red band that is competely illegible. You've got to wonder what horrors lurk beneath the surface. And frankly, I don't think the cable sounds as good as it used to. But they were so damned expensive, I can't bear to throw them out. Lastly, it's not uncommon that cables that have been unplugged / plugged / bent / twisted / stepped on, etc. over a span of years can begin to have problems where you have intermittent drops in signal flow. I've certainly had that happen with a pair of Audio Quest composite video cables -- sometimes the picture's there, sometimes it isn't. Considering how fickle most audiophiles are, it's doubtful many of us would keep the same cables for such extended periods of time. But from my own experience, they do suffer the effects of age and, eventually, need to be tossed. What we need is the Dorian Gray cable that never ages. Instead, a picture of the cable takes all the wear and tear. Van den Hul, are you listening? - VD -- Videodrome Two-channel System: SB3, into Musiland MD-10 DAC; Outlaw 970 Pre/Pro; McCormack DNA-125 amplifier; Quad 11L speakers; Sota Sapphire ttbl. w/ Grado Ref. Platinum Cart. into Rolls Bellari VP-129 tube phono stage; Marantz 10b; Nakamichi RX505; Cables Used: DH Labs, Van den Hul, Distech, Monster, many more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Videodrome's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=11727 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=36658 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
