[music_4321]

Last time I checked with Sotheby's (sent them the photo shown in my previous post of my ES3X with the 'green' UE cable), they got back to me saying they expected this article to fetch £22,000 - £28,000 at auction (up to £35,000 on a good day).

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

...That's right, I'm from Canada. Not getting what you're saying.
So basically we are establishing that copper wires go green after a while. Huh. I've seen some old copper cables which the copper is all dark, but not green (such as ground wires in old turntables).

Krypton, the planet.

 
Anyway, depends on the chemicals involved and the impurity, copper wire can oxidized into different colors. black and green are some of the most common.

 

[3602]

...Yeah Erik, antiquities and IEMs aren't exactly the same thing. It ain't like vintage DT-48a or anything like that either.
Anyway. As long as it does not affect the sound, I guess we can just paint the cable black and call it a day.
Also, ClieOS, I still have no idea what that is. But judging from the context, I'm going to guess that Kryptonians have see-through vision. Well, we humans don't. So that.
I sure hope that Sony's 7N-OFC can mitigate this problem.

 

[rroseperry]

...Yeah Erik, antiquities and IEMs aren't exactly the same thing. It ain't like vintage DT-48a or anything like that either.
Anyway. As long as it does not affect the sound, I guess we can just paint the cable black and call it a day.
Also, ClieOS, I still have no idea what that is. But judging from the context, I'm going to guess that Kryptonians have see-through vision. Well, we humans don't. So that.
I sure hope that Sony's 7N-OFC can mitigate this problem.

Krypton's most famous exile does. My 1964-Ears cables greened up in a couple of months, but there's no sound change, it just looks funky.

(my 1,500th post, how time flies.)

 

[project86]

I can't hear any difference either. But I don't care for the look, thus I avoid clear cables when possible. It's too bad because I love the look of them when they are new but it just doesn't last. 
 

 

[3602]

Yep. Clear cables look awesome, that much I give ya.
I made many ICs and extenders with 18AWG General Electric speaker cables (copper) and it has been months. No greening.

 

[mrspeakers]

This is interesting. I have had speaker wire that is clear and stayed clear for years. Even cheap zip cord doesn't have this problem.

I wonder if there is either gas diffusion through the housing because they have made a plastic selection based on thin/flexible? Or maybe some big cable maker in China changed the formula without telling the manufacturers? Or perhaps the people having this problem live in high humidity environments? I'm not sure about Krypton, but of course in CA humidity is usually low. Guys who had it turn green fast, are you in humid locales?

Regardless, this should not be happening. It is possible to make cables that are clear and don't allow the copper to oxidize. It may or may not be an audible issue, but really, when you plunk down $1k, I kind of expect high manufacturing quality. The good news is they can be replaced if the housing gets too stiff to use, etc.

 

[3602]

One person had his brand-new SE535 cables go green in one week.
The SCL5, if kept unused for a period, the cable does not go green. As soon as you start using them regularly, the SCL5 cable can go green between two weeks and three months. Hence my theory of skin secretions penetrating the cable insulation.
But how is that probable?

 

[mrspeakers]

One person had his brand-new SE535 cables go green in one week.
The SCL5, if kept unused for a period, the cable does not go green. As soon as you start using them regularly, the SCL5 cable can go green between two weeks and three months. Hence my theory of skin secretions penetrating the cable insulation.
But how is that probable?

Two things... I used to have a ton of problems with the 530 cable, the housing would stiffen and crack. Shure finally diagnosed as skin oil interacting with the plastic, but it was only the plastic around the ear. They fixed it two years ago so I doubt they would have made the same mistake twice...

As these photos show the green through the whole cable it can't be that...

Perhaps it is simply flexing the cable that opens pores in the plastic and allows gas exchange? I am no plastics/chemistry expert...

 

[3602]

Shure said it won't crack. Didn't say it won't green.
Not as serious, but still all green.

 

[wilzc]

Quote:

One person had his brand-new SE535 cables go green in one week.
The SCL5, if kept unused for a period, the cable does not go green. As soon as you start using them regularly, the SCL5 cable can go green between two weeks and three months. Hence my theory of skin secretions penetrating the cable insulation.
But how is that probable?

 
 
Just like how seawater increases the rate of oxidation of metals.. aka rust. Our skin secretions contain salt, which encourages the ionic transfer and subsequent oxidation. I thought these high end cables were silver?
 
where these companies might claim no harm to the cables, I believe oxidized copper is not too good a conductor compared to its previous state.
 
 

 

[3602]

I do not know the composition of these insulators. PE or PP I'd say.

 

[music_4321]

The cables only turn green when they are used, most likely due to the cables being in contact with sweat/body oils. The greening (at least with the cables I've used) always starts at the top, where the cables connect to the earpieces down to the Y split; below that, the process takes longer. I've had two clear cables (later sold) that I never used for over 6 months and they always remained as good as new.
 

 

[rroseperry]

Just because it's [the covering] plastic, doesn't mean it's impermeable. Given how my clear cables went green first around the area from where the connected to the monitors to about chin level, I'm suspecting skin oils are the culprits.



As you can see it's not all that green, but there's a clear difference between the sections that usually were in contact with my skin and the sections that weren't.

 

[High_Q]

If you say that, you got to ask how the sound is worsened.  I personally think, if there are enough copper in the cross section for ample electron flow, it shouldn't create any changes to the sound.  The copper oxide is created at the surface, and once it is covered with oxide, I'm sure internals will not be affected.  I know oxidation causes pure copper loss, and copper is good conductor because of the free electrons in the conduction band, and less free electrons means whatever, but I would think there would be sufficient pure copper for ample electron flow for the audio signal.
 
Quote:

It's not the same at all, is it? On a statue or antique copper decorative piece, the copper is a symbol of age, which usually increases the value. On an electronic component, it means more oxidized copper, less purity of the conductor, and possible worse conductive capability resulting in worse sound (I can't vouche for that, I just imagine that would happen.
 
You can't compare something with purely aesthetic meaning to something with pratical meaning, since in the former it's encouraged, and in the latter it's associated with deterioration of what it was purchased for - carrying an electrical signal.