Corroded Speaker Wire

Freak When C

If speaker wire has got wet and the ends are corroded, can you just cut it back a foot or two, then strip the ends to reuse or re-terminate? Or could corroded ends from moisture have caused damage to the whole length of the speaker cable?

NotaSuv

Freak When C wrote: »

If speaker wire has got wet and the ends are corroded, can you just cut it back a foot or two, then strip the ends to reuse or re-terminate? Or could corroded ends from moisture have caused damage to the whole length of the speaker cable?

Had the exact same problem with a pair of Mirage M-1's...all the wire right before the connects was green....ended up rewiring all wires from the crossover to the drivers.....a P.I.T.A but there was a improvement in sound when complete...mostly heard this in the bass and mids.....was told that you can also just cut off the ends in question as long as you can cut off enough to get rid of all the corrosion.....

Freak When C

So then it could be minor and an easy fix, or it could be major and affect the entire length of the wire. Interesting. I came across THIS and thought I'd ask. Looks like a decent deal but not if it's possibly corroded all the way through. Description doesn't say though.

zingo

The auction ended, but it seems like you could just cut them back in that case and reterminate. I'd probably tin the ends this time just to keep it from happening again.

Hillbilly61

The wires corroded because either moisture got introduced or a dielectric reaction occured within the wire. Very cheap insulation will allow corrosion to occur by allowing moisture in the air to pass through. I saw an article where very cheap wire was used and self corroded. In any event, the wire should be considered as junk.

Now, if the end got corroded (not sure how in a home environment, unless there was a flood), simply snip off a couple of inches and you are good to go! My bet, though, is that the wire is junk. I have good quality 20 year old vinyl covered speaker wire that looks brand new before the exposed end that has been skinned and exposed to air.

Freak When C

Yeah it's a gamble that I wasn't willing to take. Could be an easy fix but it would be just my luck to find it's corroded to the point it's junk. The seller could have trimmed it back himself and sold it as slightly shorter in good condition. Wonder why he didn't? :rolleyes:

Knucklehead

as Keiko said in another post, treat your wire ends, connectors, etc.. with de-oxit spray, its a great idea!

ahardy17

try this! Monster XLN 16-guage twisted pair wire with custom-terminated ends using Monster connectors soldered on. For my mains in my bedroom (currently db690's haha). actual mains to come soon. hope you can see the picture...

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2511187&l=16bf0353da&id=634711041

TECHNOKID

Keiko wrote: »

I would've passed on those auction cables and I'd definitely not use any MC in my rig.

Scotch bright cleans them up but I cannot guarantee what these will sound like on a high resolution sound system.

Sold as is.
No returns accepted.

For the asking price, the return policy, it isn't worth the risk. I too would pass, you'd be better of keeping an eye open on good deal on use cables from fellow Polkie instead and knowing you are buying some that is worthwhile the investment.

Cheers

ahardy17

Keiko wrote: »

I would've passed on those auction cables and I'd definitely not use any MC in my rig.

auction cables? never heard that one...

anyway, considering i got the stuff for $6 per 20ft spool and got the connectors at half off they seem to be a pretty good deal to me. i love those flexible wire end connectors, they're so much better than beating up the copper with the screw posts/spring terminals.

and for the record, all these babies get used for is connecting my domesticated(in-home in boxes) db690's to my receiver for listening to terribly raspy music from my laptop...i wish there was a way to reduce the hissing caused by using that audio input from the 3.5mm on my laptop

ahardy17

ohhh that auction okay....a better cound card? for a laptop? sounds tricky...but thanks for the help!