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Navships 24AWG stranded SPC teflon insulated wire: Maybe too stiff for headphone recabling?

post #1 of 10
8/2/10 at 9:42am
Thread Starter 

Hi all. I searched through the forums, but didn't find a concrete answer. I got some cable from Navships (24AWG 19 strands SPC teflon insulated cable) and the Cardas connectors to build a cable for my HD650.

 

Now I have the cable in my hands and I think that it could be too stiff once I finish it with techflex (or similar) and have it braided. I would like to have a memory free cable, so if I have to buy a new cable I prefer to do it before I start soldering the connectors.

 

Could anyone with experience tell me what to do? Thank you.

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post #2 of 10
8/2/10 at 10:31am

Depends on which SPC you got, navships (John) sells lots of wire with different insulation thickness and of different stiffness (I've noticed Kapton to be considerably stiffer than just Teflon).

 

As for techflex, I hate the stuff, use nylon multifilament sleeving instead - no noise, softer and looks much better.

 

"Memory free cable" - I assume that's a cable that's braided so tightly that it doesn't stay bent, harder said than done and personally I don't think it's something important so I've never figured how that works.

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post #3 of 10
8/2/10 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 

FallenAngel: Thanks for your message. I got the one insulated with teflon. Yes, I read that Kapton is stiffer so I avoided it. Anyway I'm afraid that just the wire I got (even without sleeve and not braided) could be too stiff. I love the way that the standard Sennheiser cable falls over my desk, it adapts easily to any shape (sofa, desk, bed, walk...). I don't want something much harder, so now I know that:

  • I will buy nylon multifilament sleeving (thank you)
  • I will not braid the cables. They will fall strait, even with no twists inside the sleeve.

 

But: Should I get a new cable or will the one I bought be flexible enough to avoid strange shapes and "hard feeling" once finished?

 

Thank you for your help.

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post #4 of 10
8/2/10 at 2:49pm

If you are going to sleeve the cable, consider just having 2 twisted pairs instead of braiding 4 together.

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post #5 of 10
8/2/10 at 3:04pm
Thread Starter 

I'm even considering not twisting the cables in pairs. Would it be a problem if I just put the cables straight into the sleeve? Could that make it flexible enough to adapt to the surfaces as it falls? (hope I'm explaining myself correctly...)

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post #6 of 10
8/2/10 at 3:05pm

I'd still recommend twisting, it won't be very stiff.

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post #7 of 10
8/2/10 at 7:15pm

twisting greatly improves the flex.

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post #8 of 10
8/3/10 at 1:09am
Thread Starter 

Ok, recipe updated for a flexible cable using Navships 24AWG stranded SPC teflon insulated wire:

 

  • Use nylon multifilament sleeving
  • Twist the cables in pairs from the headphones connectors to the pants.
  • Twist the two pairs one over the other from the pants down to the audio jack.

 

I really appreciate all your help but I still don't know if a cable built this way will be flexible enough to be called "memory free" (or at least be flexible enough to be comfortable to use in different indoor locations... desk, sofa, bedroom...).

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post #9 of 10
8/3/10 at 9:39am

If you're not happy with the navships wire, then check out Canare Starquad or Mogami Neglex (2534 or 2893) wires.  They are cheap and very soft.  All 4 wires are within one soft rubber sleeve so you don't need the nylon multifilament.  Which sounds better and do they sound better than the navships wire?  I can't answer that.  I prefer the Mogami over the Canare wires and found that in some cases, I liked the navships wire and in others I liked the Mogami.

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post #10 of 10
8/4/10 at 3:50pm
Thread Starter 

Ok. Thank you all for your help. I'll decide after checking the Canare and Mogami wires.


Edited by mudo - 8/4/10 at 3:52pm
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