[Shike]

 
Quote:

One of the only things that article says DOES effect the SQ in wires is corrosion.  So know I want to know, we've got all these people with expensive UE and JH clear-silver cables that turn green within a few weeks to a few months.  The 'official' word from JH is that this is just aesthetic and will not change the SQ.  But as the author of the website above says at one point in discussing this, "it does not inspire confidence."
 
anyone?

Silver reacts different to oxidation though, in that it still conducts very well - if not better.  Copper oxide reduces conductivity.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Oxidation is mostly a cosmetic issue. I fool around with a lot of old electronics and electrical gear. I love old fans, light fixtures, radios, appliances, and much else. Even 100 year-old wires usually conduct fine. The insulation almost always dies before the wire does. I've thought about sending around some cables for people to listen to. I'd include some ancient wiring as well as one that I'd brine in seawater for a month or two. I doubt anyone would hear the difference as long as they didn't know what they were listening to.

 

[AVU]

Good to know, because mine are already greening near the edge of one strand.

 

[BIG POPPA]

With oxidation, Copper will be affected negatively with resistance and with Silver not so much. Come on Eric, a brine in seawater?
 
Quote:

Oxidation is mostly a cosmetic issue. I fool around with a lot of old electronics and electrical gear. I love old fans, light fixtures, radios, appliances, and much else. Even 100 year-old wires usually conduct fine. The insulation almost always dies before the wire does. I've thought about sending around some cables for people to listen to. I'd include some ancient wiring as well as one that I'd brine in seawater for a month or two. I doubt anyone would hear the difference as long as they didn't know what they were listening to.

 

[Shike]

Quote:

With oxidation, Copper will be affected negatively with resistance and with Silver not so much. Come on Eric, a brine in seawater?

It will effect the resistance, but the question is how much too.  Eric may be exaggerating (or not, I don't know), but he's probably getting at the fact that the resistance probably won't be enough to create a substantial impact.  I'm guessing moderate oxidation wouldn't be an issue, but certain severe cases could cause issues.

 

[Nebby]

Assuming both ends of a cable are terminated properly and aren't corroded as well, I'd imagine surface corrosion wouldn't have a great effect on the characteristics of the cable.

 

[Shike]

Quote:

Assuming both ends of a cable are terminated properly and aren't corroded as well, I'd imagine surface corrosion wouldn't have a great effect on the characteristics of the cable.

True.  The only time that oxidation could come up as an issue off the top of my head is with bare speaker wire.

 

[MusicalChillies]

Quote:

Assuming both ends of a cable are terminated properly and aren't corroded as well, I'd imagine surface corrosion wouldn't have a great effect on the characteristics of the cable.

Well said. I am a production manager for an electroplating company. Copper is notorious for oxidising (hense people always using polishing compound to bring it back to its`s sparkly self.). Heat copper to even 60 degrees C and you will see discolouration. This is obviously just surface oxidising, not corrosion.
 
Silver also will oxidise (yellowing) but again just a surface dicolouration.
Mild steel on the other hand does corrode. Rust sets in and does corrode, gets eaten away slowly after time.
 
In answer to the first post in this thread, I can clearly hear a difference between my 2 LOD`s so that`s that blown out of the water.

 

[Shike]

Quote:

In answer to the first post in this thread, I can clearly hear a difference between my 2 LOD`s so that`s that blown out of the water.

Do you have any proof to such claims?

 

[Currawong]

If different cables cause a difference in the tone of the music, then they are easy to differentiate.  I'd have no hesitation doing a DBT, if someone desired, with cables that distinctly alter the tone of the music.  Headphone cables, interconnects, LODs or whatever.  I have had 3.5mm to 6.5mm converters which clearly added distortion as well, presumably because of the metal content.  Quite a few cables though, any differences I thought I heard I decided were below the threshold of me being able to reliably say for certain that I'd heard a difference, so in those cases, I tend to say that there's nothing in it I could detect reliably.  I could be wrong about my threshold, as I've never tested it, and especially since I'm sure my mood, food, time of day and a bunch of other factors would affect my listening ability.   I wouldn't be upset to find out I couldn't reliably DBT some of my gear, but I'm certain enough of some things. It'd be fun to do some experiments in the future. That's all I'll say on the subject.

 

[Uncle Erik]

 
Quote:

...Come on Eric, a brine in seawater?
 

No, I'm serious.  Everyone talks about the purity of cables, etc., etc., so I'd like to see if anyone can hear a difference in a really screwed up cable.  Maybe after brining, I could solder in a paperclip on one channel and perhaps a resistor on the other.
 
Instead of testing for differentiation, I'd want people to write up listening impressions of each cable.  It'd be interesting to read impressions of the brine cable compared to 99.999% pure cryogenically treated silver.
 
Or perhaps the left channel would be brined and the right channel would be some $25/foot stuff.
 
And much else.  I've got some ideas for making up five or six cables from various materials and then letting people listen and prepare a review of each one.  Cable believers tend to go with listening impressions and reviews instead of trying to differentiate A and B.  OK, so we'll have people listen to cables, prepare a review, give the cable a rating from 1 to 10, and so on, but they won't know what they're listening to.  That should take away the stress of differentiating two cables.
 
It would be interesting indeed, if a cable made of supermarket twist-ties from loaves of bread got higher ratings and reviews than some $2,000 supercable, wouldn't it?  What if everyone finds that a coathanger (and you better believe that there will be a coathanger, possibly brined, in there somewhere) has really great sound?
 
My guess is that this would produce some red faces among the golden ears.

 

[BIG POPPA]

To have "Golden Ears" is not that hard. You just have to have 100's and 100's of hours with the equipment. Changing something in the setup from time to time and keeping up with it. Joe from Kosmic.us was talking about some similar experiments Saturday at the Red Hook Meet. I'm up for it on my rig. I listen to my rig too much to not hear a difference.
 

 

[MusicalChillies]

Quote:

Do you have any proof to such claims?

I have a custom lod which sounds crystal clear through via my setup and a Fii0 lod that sounds veiled, plain as day, smae track, same volume.
It`s hardly a claim, it`s one of the most obvious things I have heard.

 

[Prog Rock Man]

In various listening tests I have read, actual kettle leads, DIY cables made with the cheapest components possible and a coathanger have been used, with no one finding a difference with 'audiophile' products.

 

[MusicalChillies]

I pressume that was aimed at me.
On a stereo/hifi setup the thinnest of speaker wire etc etc results in the same sound.
I "inherited" my fii0 lod with the purchase of my amp and was told it was a good piece of kit.
Funnily enough, also Scottish myself bought my custom lod from a guy in Glasgow.
 
I think what we have here is:
a: setup
b: iems
c: lod`s
 
I sat one evening, listened to muse and a track by the sabre`s of paradise, swapped lod`s and the fii0 just doesn`t have the top end.
This is obviously iem dependent, I will try it out with my IE8`s but I know they do not show enough detail throughout the range.
 
Ok, maybe the monster coppers which are detailed throughout show this?
Don`t shoot me down for hearing what I hear, I even have mild tinnitus.
 
The opamp setup in my amp has very little background noise, almost silent.
I even told the seller about this in a very detailed post, I do not want to post out of respect to him and neither feel I have to.
 
Once again, If I can spot something obvious that others cannot then it`s not my fault.
Stu