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4 wire RCA interconnects - Page 2

post #16 of 26
6/1/11 at 9:06pm
Thread Starter 

Hmm, I'm tempted to give it a try.

 

Anyway, about the plug opening : If it's too big and that two wires fit loosely inside it, what should I do (not just for the Valab plug, but for any of them)?

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post #17 of 26
6/1/11 at 9:12pm

A couple layers of shrinkwrap or some careful use of hot-glue is the key.

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post #18 of 26
6/1/11 at 9:15pm
Thread Starter 

Alright, thanks!

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post #19 of 26
6/1/11 at 9:34pm

I just re-read what I wrote above...

 

Shrinkwrap should be heatshrink tubing

:facepalm:

totally different applications. 

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post #20 of 26
6/1/11 at 9:36pm
Thread Starter 

I have finally decided to purchase 15' of 18g wire, and 10' of 22g. I'll make myself a LOD with either a Canare F-12 mini plug, or a Switchcraft 35HDNN or 35HDRANN.

 

Also, I am going to purchase some Cardas SRCA plugs for the interconnects. Jena Labs told me that they were Cardas dealers and that they could offer me cryo-treated SRCA plugs for a respectable price, and that they are checking the price right now. I hope it's indeed respectable, otherwise I'll have to pass and look for non-cryo treated ones (not even sure that there is a benefit in cryo-treating plugs).

 

I might purchase some other plugs for additional interconnects, namely the Valabs. Hope they do well! :)


Everyone, thank you very much for your help. If you have any additional comments, please share them! ;)


Edited by Benjamin6264 - 6/1/11 at 9:40pm
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post #21 of 26
6/1/11 at 9:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by nikongod View Post

I just re-read what I wrote above...

 

Shrinkwrap should be heatshrink tubing

:facepalm:

totally different applications. 



Actually, I didn't realise that there was a difference and was thinking of heatshrink too :P (my first language is French, you see).


Edited by Benjamin6264 - 6/1/11 at 9:39pm
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post #22 of 26
6/2/11 at 5:22am

the canare with 18awg jena will kill your mini sockets in no time

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post #23 of 26
6/2/11 at 9:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by qusp View Post

the canare with 18awg jena will kill your mini sockets in no time


No kidding...but each to their own. rolleyes.gif
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post #24 of 26
6/2/11 at 9:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by samsquanch View Post

I might catch some crap for this, but....

 

if you're cable is under 10 feet, you're probably not going to notice any benefit to a braid.  Twist your pair together and put them inside something to hold them together (heat shrink, expandable sleeving, rubber hose, tape......), twisted pair does a pretty decent job of noise rejection by itself.

 

Also under 10 feet, shielding is not necessary, unless you're in a RFI/EMI noisy enviroment, if not, then don't sweat it.

 

A drain wire is a wire that is some how making contact with the shield, whether it is a separate wire that is touching the shield (foil or braided), or is the braided shield twisted together into a wire.  For balanced or microphone cables, there will be a twisted pair of wires inside of a shield, and there will either be a separate drain wire, or you will need to twist the braided wires of the shield together to solder to the appropriate pin.

 

For an RCA interconnect, you will do just fine with 2 wires per cable, which will attach the same on both sides, pin to pin, sleeve to sleeve.  24 and 22 gauge wires work well, I've seen studies done that say 24 is the best gauge, but I prefer to work with 22, and find that it will withstand more abuse.

 

Using multiple wires for a single point of connection can cause signal smearing, as the signal will travel down multiple paths of different lengths, which can cause phase cancellation or attenuation at higher frequencies.  Just stick with 1 wire per point of connection.

 

Hopefully this helps.

 

oulalala wrong quote..wanted to ask the OP or rather tell this...

 

"

Greetings,

 

I am planning on building my own RCA interconnects for my home headphone setup, but I am quite new to DIY and I'm not sure how I should configure the cables.

 

I was thinking of using 4 wires per RCA cable. The wires will be braided together. Should I do 3 signal wires and 1 ground, or 2 signal wires and 2 grounds?

 

Also, what exactly is a "Drain" wire? What about shielding? How do those work and are they supposed to be soldered anywhere? Should I be using them for my interconnects?

 

It's all vocabulary that I'm not very familiar with, and I'm not sure how I should use my 4 wires to make the sound as good as possible.

 

I'll be using Jena Labs cryo wire for the job, which is made of copper and covered by a plastic tubing. Should I be covering the braided result with some kind of insulation or anything?

 

Please help a newbie out!

 

Thank you,

Benjamin6264"


Aehmmm a normal shielded twin core cable will be technically sufficient to do this job but have fun to use other cables :)

 

 


Edited by monoethylene - 6/2/11 at 9:49am
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post #25 of 26
6/2/11 at 9:47am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by qusp View Post

the canare with 18awg jena will kill your mini sockets in no time



What do you mean?

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post #26 of 26
6/2/11 at 9:47am
Thread Starter 

Oh, you meant for the LOD. That's what I was thinking too.

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