Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Cables, Power, Tweaks, Speakers, Accessories (DBT-Free Forum) › Grado's Extension Cable or recabling ?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Grado's Extension Cable or recabling ?

post #1 of 4
8/14/10 at 10:41pm
Thread Starter 

Hi everyone !

 

I just purchased a pair of Grado SR225i and I'm happy with how they sound so far. Although, I'd need a longer cable. I was thinking of getting Grado's extension cable, but then I saw here that a lot of people like to recable their headphones. I thought then that it could be a good idea to make my own cable with the length that I want (about 10 feet). So here's my big question :

 

Would recabling using Canare/Mogami be considered as an upgrade compared to Grado's stock cable ?

 

If it's a downgrade, I'll just go with Grado's extension cable since I guess it's probably the same quality as SR225i's stock cable. If it's quite equal, I think recabling would be a cheaper solution. Also, I don't want to spend too much money on this (about $40), so using Cardas would probably be too expensive.

 

Thanks in advance.

Reply
post #2 of 4
8/15/10 at 6:24pm

Canare/Mogami star quad is indeed an upgrade, for Grados it is mostly because of the shielding since the stock ones already have 4 wires throughout the whole length.

 

Before recabling your Grados I would suggest practicing a bit by making a mini-to-mini interconnect or something. Recabling Grados requires you to open up the driver housing and desolder. Make sure you know what you are doing to avoid accidentally frying something. It's really not too difficult though.

 

 

I posted earlier in a similar thread. One option is to reterminate the stock Grado cable into 4-pin XLR and make your own XLR-to-TRS extension cable:

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/507419/recabling-hd600-or-headphone-extension-cable#post_6856385

 

Finally, if you need to order parts from the US (like Markertek), try to either keep the cost below $20 or avoid using UPS for shipping. UPS will charge at least $50 for brokerage and duties otherwise, unless the parts are all strictly manufactured in North America. Mogami and Canare are made in Japan.

Reply
post #3 of 4
8/15/10 at 7:38pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for your answer !

 

I think I might just make an extension for now. Opening up the driver housing would void my warranty, so maybe I should wait before recabling.

 

I just need to find somewhere to order all of this... I'll probably go check at my local store. So, basically, if I want to make an extension, I would need :

 

- star quad cable

- 1 male plug

- 1 female plug

- nylon cable sleeve

- some heat-shrink tubing

 

Right ?

Reply
post #4 of 4
8/15/10 at 7:53pm

That looks right. And the soldering equipment too, of course. Maybe a multimeter to test for wire continuity (not really necessary if the inner wires are all different colours like Mogami).

 

Do post the results of your search if you find a place in Canada that sells star quad at reasonable prices. I imported from Markertek last time because everywhere else seemed to only offer cables in lengths of 100m or more.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Cables, Power, Tweaks, Speakers, Accessories (DBT-Free Forum) › Grado's Extension Cable or recabling ?