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20 year old Kimber should not sound this good ..
- Thread starter Akustic
- Start date
Nope ... and I'm thinking that living Next to Lake Nichigan isn't going to qualify me for dry environmet ..
There was some old Monster that had turned green inside the clear insulation that they were using back in the 80's that was in that same open top cardboard box..
AudioAvarice
Super Member
The monster cable probably turned green from the outgassing of the clear insulation imo, rather than moisture ingress.
Most of the second hand cable I buy, and use is over 30 years old, worst I've seen is mildly tarnished cable ends.
Most of the second hand cable I buy, and use is over 30 years old, worst I've seen is mildly tarnished cable ends.
^^ this. It's the breakdown of the crap plastic insulation outgassing god knows what. That being, I still use some like that, tinned ends before the green set in long ago. However to reterminate such, in its present rich, dark green-ness might be more hassle than it's worth.
Is there clean wire under the insulation when you re-terminate them ??
I don't think that we pay sufficient attention to the subtleties of audio signal transmission ..
The molecular structure of the wire, and the insulation materials can and do make audible differences...
Plastic certainly changes it's physical composition and characteristics over time ..
One more listening experiment would be a comparison between a new and 30 year old cable, but I wouldn't be able to locate samples.
True high end or proffesional cables are redesigned too often ..
It would be a true Classic cable if it existed.
My speakers were made in 1989 using the old Kimber Kable teflon coated wire internally. Hopefully, since all the connections are soldered, there's no oxidation going on.
Years ago I ran the Kimber Kable braded strands as speaker cables, but they were too short for my current room when we moved in 1999 to a larger home. Thanks to the internet, I kept reading that speaker wires don't make an audible difference, which contradicted my previous beliefs, but since money was tight I bought some inexpensive 16 gauge CCA wire.....it didn't sound nearly as good, but I attributed it to the sound of the new room. My beloved system sounded uninviting and uninspiring, and I lost some interest.
Years later I upgraded with some decent 4 conductor OFC wire that sounded so much nicer. I stopped listening to the cable deniers right then and there, and have gone my own way ever since. Wire, cables, connectors, caps, amps, opamps, power supplies, DACs, tubes, isolation, etc, can not only make an audible difference, but they're cumulative! The weakest link theory applies....I try to leave no stone unturned, and I'm extremely happy with my system these days. Even if it's all in my head, it's noticeable every time I listen, so I don't really care what the cause is.
Years ago I ran the Kimber Kable braded strands as speaker cables, but they were too short for my current room when we moved in 1999 to a larger home. Thanks to the internet, I kept reading that speaker wires don't make an audible difference, which contradicted my previous beliefs, but since money was tight I bought some inexpensive 16 gauge CCA wire.....it didn't sound nearly as good, but I attributed it to the sound of the new room. My beloved system sounded uninviting and uninspiring, and I lost some interest.
Years later I upgraded with some decent 4 conductor OFC wire that sounded so much nicer. I stopped listening to the cable deniers right then and there, and have gone my own way ever since. Wire, cables, connectors, caps, amps, opamps, power supplies, DACs, tubes, isolation, etc, can not only make an audible difference, but they're cumulative! The weakest link theory applies....I try to leave no stone unturned, and I'm extremely happy with my system these days. Even if it's all in my head, it's noticeable every time I listen, so I don't really care what the cause is.
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The known Laws of physics apply and explain many (maybe most) of the audible differences ...
Sort of the nature of the Laws of Physics, they always apply .. non-believers get hit when the apple falls on their head.
AudioAvarice
Super Member
Yeah, so far all the copper looks brand new when re-terminated I only buy polypropylene, and teflon insulated cables both much more stable than pvc.
Dielectric stability counts .. They both have low dielectric constants.
There are some proprietary x-linked PFE cable coatings that audio cable manufacturers have created ..
Make me wonder what properties they're manipulating ..