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First Custom Inteconnects

post #1 of 13
6/16/06 at 3:44am
Thread Starter 
I have Alesis M1 Mk2 active speakers and I'm trying to make custom interconnect cables because I need non-standard 20 and 40 ft long cables. I was recommended to get coax cable and solder it to a 1/4" banana jack plug. I have included the pictures below so that you can double check whether I got the right cables.

I wanted to ask - there are 3 places on the jack that need to be connected to the wire. How do I go about it? Which part of the wire should go to which bolt and does the order matter?

Thanks a lot.
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post #2 of 13
6/16/06 at 4:45am
Going by the official product page, it appears to be using a "Combination XLR-1/4" jack with input level control". Banana plugs are definitely not suitable for this purpose.

Depending on whether the input is dual-mono or stereo, you may or may not be able to use those coaxial cables. Can you tell us if there is one or two of these input jacks (i.e. one for L & R or one for both channels combined)?

Cheers!
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post #3 of 13
6/16/06 at 11:56am
Thread Starter 
Zorander, I am so frustrated because night after night am unable to get the right information to get the wires I need. Just take a look:
http://www.audiomastersforum.org/amf...?p=54155#54155

This is just one of the 6 audio forums I am in right now (the most recent).

Each speaker has it's own input - it's 1/4" male banana plug. Since I will be connecting them to my soundcard, I was told in the above forum that my system is unbalanced and I need mono interconnects. All I am trying to achieve is this:

Buy a 20ft and 25 ft 1/4" male to male shielded, unbalanced wires without any expensive brand names. Just regular. Is it so difficult to find that I should spend night after night trying to find them? I live in LA, CA and have tried every store I could. Maybe I have no choice but to waste money on cables that are very expenisve only because of their brand name.
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post #4 of 13
6/16/06 at 9:02pm
Since you are using the EMU 0404 as source, that rules out the coaxial cables. You won't be able to fit two of those cables into the connector as each coaxial cable generally has only two usable conductors (and you need four).

Here's what. Get a 4-core cable (general audio cables, microphone cables, CAT5 network cables, whatever-type, as long as they sport at least 4 conductor cores inside) and solder each end of the cable to the appropriate connectors, i.e. 9-pin D-sub male connector for the EMU & two mono 1/4" phone plugs on each of your speaker inputs. Notice I used the words "mono 1/4" phone plugs" (examples in the middle of page), as I believe this is what your speakers are using instead of banana (examples). Tell me if I'm right there.

Here is a guide on how you can solder your own 0404 breakout cable: Guide. You did mention that you are fine with soldering, so I trust this is a step in the right direction for you. Otherwise, any of our in-house DIYers will always be able to accomodate you, for a price.

Cheers!


Edit:
I forgot to mention that I do not recommend using the stock 0404 breakout cable. It's better to make one single cable that does a better job too! Hence also why I said two coaxial cables won't fit into the EMU connector (which means the 9-pin D-sub male connector, not the stock breakout/connector).
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post #5 of 13
6/16/06 at 9:26pm
If the above suggested method looks too much trouble, the method suggested to you on the other forum should work fine too (but note that I vastly prefer making a whole new interconnect and not using the stock breakout cable).

For each cable, solder the centre/main conductor to the pin of the 1/4" plug. Solder the cable shield (the stranded "metal hairs/braids") to the body of the 1/4" plug. Do the same on each side of the cable. You can now use these cables (along with the stock breakout cable) to connect to your speakers.

Regards.
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post #6 of 13
6/16/06 at 11:42pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you very much for your response. At this point I am completely exhausted don't want to solder anymore if I can help it. I was pointed to:
http://www.samash.com/catalog/showit...RCH&GroupCode=

I think I'll just get 2 of this and connect my speakers. What do you think?
Regarding the break-out, is the quality difference too large? If it is not, then I will take care of it at the same time as I get a mixer in few months.
To add fuel to the fire, a guy at gutar center told me today that I need BALANCED cables not unbalanced. I told him what I was told in the other forum, he said that's nonense and that they don't know what they are talking about - balanced cables cancels out noise. I don't think ALL the people in that forum could be wrong.
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post #7 of 13
6/17/06 at 12:10am
Yes, that is exactly the cable you need (to be used along with the stock breakout).

The guitar centre guy probably assumed that just because your speakers use a balanced connector you need a balanced cable. But it does not look the case to me since the speakers can also accept unbalanced 1/4" connections. The only way to find out is to try it out (and I am very sure it will work).

Cheers!
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post #8 of 13
6/18/06 at 1:58am
Thread Starter 
Zorander, I just read the guide for break-out adapter. It was very helpful to find out about partsexpress.com! If the stock break-out has such a low quality that it will really show on my speakers, then I will make my own in a month or two.

I have decided to make my own interconnects. At the other forum they recommended a cable like this:
http://www.electusdistribution.com.a...T&SUBCATID=225

Which I found in USA here:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=100-295

Is that the correct cable? Do you know any stores that might sell them in USA directly?

I am having a lot of trouble trying to find custom speaker cables. If you don't mind, could we discuss what are we generally looking for speaker cables? Here is what I assume is a speaker cable:

ANY cable that is shielded and carries a single core of stranded wires (for mono). For stereo, I would need two cores. I could also use any multiples of cores by simply combining two cores and soldering them on the same bolt of the plug (e.g. the sleeve). For grounding, the concentric wires (mesh) is for shielding and/or grounding purposes ONLY(?).
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post #9 of 13
6/18/06 at 2:49am
If you are looking to make an E-MU 0404 breakout cable/interconnect, it's most convenient to obtain, as I wrote previously, a 4-core cable. You can choose any kinds of cable, from general audio cable, mic cable and even CAT5 network cable. The guide involves building the interconnect from scratch, which is more work and cost you more considering the amount of "raw materials" (wires, sleeves, etc) you have to purchase.

The cables you linked aren't suitable for this purpose since you will still need two runs of them and they won't fit into the D-sub connector. Here are a few examples that are better-suited:

Mogami W2534 Quad Mic Cable (Redco is US-based and offers great prices; this should be a 4-core cable but correct me if I'm wrong anyway)
4-core Round Screened Audio Cable
Core Screened Professional Microphone Cable

With these cables, business is the same. Simply solder respective ends of the cable with the suitable connectors and you are done. Given that you need different lengths of cable for each channel (and at considerably long measurements), you might need to get a little creative with the splicing. Nothing a long run of PET sleeve and some heatshrinking can't solve anyway.

Cheers!


Edit:
But if you are only making interconnects (like those instrument cables you linked previously) to be used with the stock break-out, yes those cables you linked will work fine and so will those coaxial cables you mentioned initially.
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post #10 of 13
6/18/06 at 3:11am
Thread Starter 
I finally see what you mean. Those ARE the cables for the speakers. I thought they were just an adapter. In that case a slight modification: instead of an F-connector at the other end, I will have to use the 1/4" mono plug. Otherwise I will have to get a short adapter to fit into my speakers. I also don't see the need of having silver in the solder. The difference is very little and when it comes to speakers, perhaps inaudible.
You're right about splicing. Perhaps the best solution would be to get two shielded 2 core wires. I will remove the shielding near the pins inside the case of the D-sub so that there is no tension on the connection and it should work fine.
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post #11 of 13
6/18/06 at 3:34am
Let me try to clarify things further.

If you are looking to make simple interconnects to be used along with the stock breakout cable, you can use any of those cables you linked, e.g. coaxial, single-core, dual-core, whatever-else. Get two runs of these cables (each pertaining to the required lengths for each channel) and solder a 1/4" mono phone plug to each end. The final picture of the setup will look like this:

EMU-0404 analog output port -> stock breakout cable -> your self-made cables -> monitors/speakers

No need for any funny adapters.


However, if you are making a brand new custom breakout cable (thus not using the stock breakout cable), you need to get a single run of 4-core cable. Trying to jam two runs of cable into the small D-sub connector/housing is not recommended and you will likely fail anyway. Similar to the above, solder each wire of the cable to the appropriate pins on the D-sub connector, take note which wires are for which channels (L & R, signal & ground), and solder the 1/4" mono plugs on the other end of the cable. The final picture of the setup will look like this:

EMU-0404 analog output port -> your self-made breakout cable -> monitors/speakers

Again, no need for any funny adapters.


Regards.


p.s. I trust you already understand how to solder wires onto the connectors (signal, ground)?
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post #12 of 13
6/18/06 at 3:56am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
solder each wire of the cable to the appropriate pins on the D-sub connector, take note which wires are for which channels (L & R, signal & ground), and solder the 1/4" mono plugs on the other end of the cable

That's exactly what I meant. Maybe I won't be able to fit two 2 core ones, but it might work if I remove all the shielding from the part of the cables that are inside the D-sub box. If not, I'll just have to try and do neat splicing that works and isn't too ugly.

P.S: Yes - the grounding (shielding) goes to sleeve. Core goes to tip. I just figured that out.
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post #13 of 13
6/18/06 at 4:15am
That can work too, but you are essentially stripping the pair of cables of any mechanical stress protection, i.e. the soldered points in the D-sub housing will have to take all strains since the sleevings on the cables would have been removed too.

Shouldn't be much of an issue if you are not going to be plugging and unplugging the cable often anyway.
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