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UE Superfi pro clear cable turn Green!

post #1 of 15
2/1/10 at 7:34pm
Thread Starter 
Hi
I have UE Super fi pro. The cable jacket is clear. I see the cable inside clear jacket near the earphone turning green! Does it happen to you? I believe that UE is well-known but how can it happen to me? Is there anyway to fix it? otherwise i need to order another pair of replacement cable.

I probably go with another brand.

thanks.
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post #2 of 15
2/1/10 at 7:41pm
that is called oxidation. it happens with clear cables
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post #3 of 15
2/1/10 at 7:42pm
I don't know if there is any way to fix it, but the cable is oxidizing.
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post #4 of 15
2/1/10 at 8:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rawrster View Post
that is called oxidation.
It's due to poor cable design. You might as well get it replaced soon. My UE cable does the same thing. I am on my third cable, so far it's actually lasted longer than the previous two.
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post #5 of 15
2/1/10 at 8:43pm
Has anyone seen evidence of this on anything but transparently coated wires e.g. when stripping the ends of old wiring?
I can't say I have.
Is it an oxide or some other copper compound/salt like verdigris that are known to be green? Does sweat, CO2 or outgassing from the insulation add to this and does it have any effect on the audio properties of the wire?
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post #6 of 15
2/1/10 at 9:07pm
I've read that it doesn't impact the SQ of the wire but I could be wrong.
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post #7 of 15
2/1/10 at 9:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Young Spade View Post
I've read that it doesn't impact the SQ of the wire but I could be wrong.
When I got a new cable (could be because of different materiel) the SQ did change for the better.
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post #8 of 15
2/1/10 at 9:11pm
This is occurs on the surface of the wire exposed to air, it doesnt impact conductivity in any way so SQ is not effected. Ive stripped black plastic coated wires, and the wires on the inside had turned green...so oxidation could also occur on non-clear wires as well (but you would never know).
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post #9 of 15
2/1/10 at 9:24pm
What nobb said is correct. You can never tell if your black/grey/whatever coloured cables have oxidised but it will only be the very outside layer. Since the oxidised metal is coating the rest of the cable, oxygen cannot get to the inside easily. It would take decades (or maybe even centuries?) for the cable to deteriorate where sound quality is impacted negatively by a significant margin. Although its rather unsightly with clear cables unfortunately . Perhaps find a custom black cable? :P
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post #10 of 15
2/1/10 at 9:26pm
Have it happen on all 3 of my UE cables. Totally common.
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post #11 of 15
2/1/10 at 10:25pm
It's caused by corrosion from the salts in your bodily fluids. I had an early pair of Sony IEMs get so corroded I had to regularly wipe off the Cu chlorides which leached out of the housing seam. My UE Super.Fi 5 clear cable has a nice green patina on it around the memory wires.

For the most part, it won't cause any noticeable audio degradation until it fails. The corroded portion won't have as much fatigue life as the non-corroded part, meaning you'll put them on your ears one day and a driver won't be working.
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post #12 of 15
2/1/10 at 11:08pm
My stock SF5 Pro clear cables turned green. I ordered a UE custom clear cable and it turned green even quicker.

For my latest IEMs I chose to go with a black ES cable.
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post #13 of 15
3/16/10 at 3:32pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you all for your valuable input.
I was away for a while so i couldn't get online.

Anyway, where can i order black wire ? and which type and model?

thanks very much.
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post #14 of 15
3/16/10 at 4:10pm
I got my black cables from Westone: Elite Series Monitor Replacement Cables | Westone

If I were to do it again I might get the black ones from UE instead, as I like the longer memory wire and the more simple clear tubing for the slider (not sure if they still do this but my clear UE custom cables were like this).
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post #15 of 15
3/18/10 at 1:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by intoflatlines View Post
I got my black cables from Westone: Elite Series Monitor Replacement Cables | Westone

If I were to do it again I might get the black ones from UE instead, as I like the longer memory wire and the more simple clear tubing for the slider (not sure if they still do this but my clear UE custom cables were like this).
Does ES cable fit well with UE Super 5 Pro? The cable looks more solid than UE cable though.

thanks.
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