mace Posted January 2, 2002 Share Posted January 2, 2002 I have some 12 year old monster speaker cables and they are quite dingy in appearance (look rather brown, not copper colored) all along the length. They are each about 20-25 feet long (can't remember exactly). For 99% of the 12 years I've had gold connectors at amp end and just bare wires at the speaker end. My question: Does speaker cable like this degrade over time? Does the oxide coating degrade the performance in some documented way? Any info is appreciated. Mace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted January 2, 2002 Share Posted January 2, 2002 Are you kidding? I know you arent but just consider yourself lucky that you got some enjoyable years out of your cable purchase. Indeed, cables do infact oxidize over time as air does make it into the cable. Some cables are MUCH worse than others, many showing some form of oxidation in as little two years or even less. Sadly, Monster Cable is not too great in in this regard although I have seen worse. You would be doing yourself a great service to ditch that ancient Monster Cable (which is seriously outclassed in the smoothness and resolution department these days), and find yourself some new wire. Personally, I would avoid Monster Cable products as there is much better stuff out there. kh ------------------ s y s t e m Linn LP-12/Linn Basic Plus/Sumiko Blue Point Rega Planet Cary Audio SLP-70 w/Phono Modified Welborne Labs 2A3 Moondog Monoblocks DIYCable Superlative / Twisted Cross Connect 1977 Klipsch Cornwall I w/Alnico & Type B Crossover system one online / alternate components / Asylum Listing f>s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted January 3, 2002 Share Posted January 3, 2002 Mobile, LOL "Sadly, Monster Cable is not too great in in this regard although I have seen worse. You would be doing yourself a great service to ditch that ancient Monster Cable (which is seriously outclassed in the smoothness and resolution department these days), and find yourself some new wire. Personally, I would avoid Monster Cable products as there is much better stuff out there." Mr Mobile I use Monster M1000 interconects,M Series M2.4B speakers wire(two pairs of 15 feet and one 15 foot for the center channel)and for my main speaker the Spendor FL10 is use Monster Sigma speaker wires. So these are outclassed and not too great! LOL Stop or I will really roll on the floor.Sure cables do bring changes in sound but not as drastic as you make belive.Not on regular systems anyway. Mace, Sorry I was too funny...ok Yes cables as all things around us degrade over time. But I would not worry about it too much,before your cables degrade to the point where you will notice anything your speakers and some other mechanical components may be long gone. TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted January 3, 2002 Share Posted January 3, 2002 Yes. So much so that I reccomend listening to music in an oxygen-free environment. Take lots of vitamin C, too. fini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted January 3, 2002 Share Posted January 3, 2002 I'd say you have little to worry about. I can appreciate that some oxidation on the surface is seen, probably though a clear insulating jacket. It does give one pause. However, I think it is fair to say that electrical wiring in many applications experience such surface oxidation. Probably all the appliances in your house have stranded wire in the a.c. feed cord. No one is suggesting the ability to deliver power is compromised. The underlying conductor is okay. There is a legitimate question about whether the oxidation on the surface will compromise connection to a screw on connection or the like. All I can say is maybe. A cure would be to cut off the end and expose a new length. It might be oxidized on the surface. You can fan out the strands and brighten them up with very-fine sandpaper or something like 400 grit wet or dry (available at Home Depot). An emory board used in nail care would work just fine too. Then twist the strands back together. When I can, I tin stranded wire with solder. If that is not in your area of expertise, you're probably still okay. Please know that I'm in the camp that believes plain old wire is good enough. So I can't address old Monster Wire versus anything else. Regards, Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted January 4, 2002 Share Posted January 4, 2002 Earz, first of all, he is surely not talking about the top end Monster Cable products. In the low end department, I think Monster Cable is a bad deal all the way around as it is grainy and bright in comparison to even simple solid core solutions. On top of that, I have seen Monster Cable from the 80s that is completely oxidized with every strand in the wire showing severe interaction. Another cable company that had a terrible time with their jacketing letting in too much air was Esoteric Cable from those days...so much so, they changed their jacket color to a darker brown hue to hide the fact that their wire turned green in very little time. Some cables offer far, far more resistance to this oxidation (along with better sound). After these findings, many cable companies began searching for more pure wire and wire that was more oxygen free in construction. Actually, a "good sounding" culprit is the very popular AudioQuest F-14 from the 80s. Uhnfortunately, this very good sounding for the money cable had the propensity to oxidize far worse than other AudioQuest products, enough so they had to modify their quality control and application. As for Monster Cable's high end designs, I have found them ok and pretty smooth if perhaps a bit too smooth and a bit less detailed then other designs at this price point. In general, I just have never liked their designs but the top end is surely better than the low end. One only has to do some reading on "the skin effect" and how it applies to audio cable to wonder about the effects of this oxidation as well as the jacket material. Their solution to the "Skin Effect" and theories of solid core vs stranded or the effects of various insulation dont gibe with what I have found to be true sonic wise. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oosting Posted January 4, 2002 Share Posted January 4, 2002 The cable looks brown because the plastic coating has yellowed over time. When copper oxidizes, it turns BLUE or GREEN! Clean the speaker end and use the stuff, it's fine. Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted January 4, 2002 Share Posted January 4, 2002 Cut about two inches or so off the bare end side and examine the cable for condition. Strip new end area and take a look. My experience with the original Monster Cable is that it does indeed oxidize. Actually you should have redone the bare end long ago to see condition. Although 95% of this forum disagrees, I think Monster Cable is not very good sounding as it comes across as slightly veiled, thick, with somewhat coarse highs. If you are happy with the sound, however, then that is all that really matters. kh system one online / alternate components / asylum listing f>s> Ooosting - I have seen plenty of cable turn a dull, tarnished, brown look as well. Dont only assume the cable degrading over time will just turn "blue or green." This message has been edited by mobile homeless on 01-05-2002 at 08:02 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted January 4, 2002 Share Posted January 4, 2002 Mobile Home., "I just have never liked their designs but the top end is surely better than the low end." WOW you rediscovered the wheel! LOL Speaking about cables some may say cables have almost no impact on sound.At least you know as I know its BS.Cables do change sound if the system has quality components and revealing components. TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mace Posted January 5, 2002 Author Share Posted January 5, 2002 Hiya folks, Let's see.... Now the rest of the story... After reading folks response it reminded me of some details which may be significant! The cable sat in my attic for about 2.5 years (Indiana winters and summers) and underwent temperature and humidity extremes. Also, when I pulled it out last May when I got my KLF 30's. The bare ends were very brown and dingy and seemed to have a light gel like coating on them. (I know that copper oxides to green but this wire isn't green, it's more like a really old penny). So, I did cut the ends off to expose some new wire. I noticed after about a week or so that the cut ends had some sort of goo on them again. I cut off the ends again to expose new wire. About 8 weeks later I got some $15 EZ on banana plugs from monster, just for ease of use. At this time I noticed again that the cut ends seemed to have this goo on them. Anyone know why the cut ends of this cable seem slightly gooey?? Mobile: Just curious... how did you know I was "surely not talking about top of the line monster products"?? Is my frugality that transparent?? At this point I raise a practical question: What is the best cable for <$2/foot? I've been advised (thanks Max) that Monster will replace what I have with new but in case they don't I may consider new. I tend to think that a great emphasis on cable quality is not worth it but I've never really compared. Any input is welcomed! Thanks, Mace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted January 5, 2002 Share Posted January 5, 2002 Although I hate to admit it publicly,I agree with mobile.Try some solid core speaker wire.AudioAdvisor usually has a deal on AudioQuest.I use AQ myself(which doesn't really mean anything). Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 5, 2002 Share Posted January 5, 2002 In fact, my older Monster cable sounded better with my subs than the newer Monster interconnects. They made a different difference that I liked. I put the newer cables on the Pre-amp to amp connection. I did swap between the old and thick Monster cable and the new and thin ones. Although not so noticeable on the KSW200, the thicker cable (bigger, slower signal) seem to be better on the LF10 with the older, thicker interconnects on a 2 meter (6.6) run. My feeling is that with copper speaker cables, the thicker the better, especially with defining the bass notes. Ergo, with silver cable, the thinner the better, especially with mid-range and treble notes. I no longer use my very old Monster speaker cables, the new ones sound better, but it might also be the banana plugs and the tighter connection ... ------------------ Colin's Music System Cornwall 1s & Klipsch subs; lights out & tubes glowing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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