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Newb in Iraq wanting to recable

post #1 of 9
6/26/11 at 10:12am
Thread Starter 

Hi, I'm currently serving in Iraq and don't have a very fast internet connection.  I'm lucky at times to get speeds around 36Kbps.  Unfortunately I am quite addicted to this website now as I spend most of my free time waiting around listening to music.  I brought along my Sennheiser HD202's and my 80GB iPod Classic for music.  After reading the website for some time I upgraded from my Sennheisers to a very awesome AudioTechnica M50.  I also bought a Fiio L1 and a Fiio E5 to compliment my upgrade.  The detail and bass its a vast improvement.  I flashed my iPod with Rockbox, found higher bitrate copies of music that I had (huge improvement!) and got rid of iTunes in favor of Foobar2000. 

 

I'm very happy with the changes so far... except the Fiio E5 is kinda small and the "bass boost" sounds terrible on anything other than electronic music.  I love DIY and I have made a few cMoys in the past.  I'm somewhat tempted to just buy an amp, my only requirement is that it needs to be the same relative size as my iPod -- but that's a different project.

 

Right now I want to make my own cables... I am very competent at soldering.  The problem is I have spent days drooling over the DIY cable gallery.  Mostly days loading the pictures... haha.  I want to recable my ATH-M50's as well as make a 1/8th to 1/8th cable.  I need some place that will ship APO -- also with so many options I don't know what to get.  I was thinking of some of the silver plated copper, but I am unsure what gauge.  I have found a lot of stranded copper cable but no solid.  Also all the connectors that I have found are like $15.  I was hoping not to spend more than about $35-$50 on a cable.  This doesn't include shipping, which unfortunately is always expensive with APO -- even though its only shipping to New York until the government takes over.  Id ultimately like to build something like this...

 

TRS2RCA.jpg

 

...except 1/8th to 1/8th.  I know most people would say use the search button but it seriously takes me forever just to pull up a few links. 

 

Any links or tips will be very useful.  Thank you!

 

 


Edited by xathor - 6/26/11 at 10:13am
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post #2 of 9
6/26/11 at 9:22pm

That should be pretty simple really.  Just get some nice Mogami 4-conductor wire (if you're using stereo 1/8" -- 2 conductor if you're using mono).  I'm not sure if you're familiar or not, but the connectors go Tip-Ring-Sleeve which is Left-Right-Ground for a stereo configuration.  Simply solder on the left to the tip, the right to the ring, and for the ground, solder the shielding to one end of the cable (probably the source/amp side).  

 

If you want to go the silver route, Silver Dragon cable sells for $20/ft and its very nice.  I love this stuff.  Also Blue Dragon sells for $8.50/ft. I think Black Dragon also sells for $8.50/ft but don't quote me on that.

 

If you want the fancy cable, get some tech-flex.  That's the stuff around the cable, if you didn't know that already.  Other things to get your hands on before you start... heat shrink, and connectors.  For best bang for buck look for the Neutrik REAN connectors.  the REAN series by Neutrik is good, and they're cheap.  

 

Let us know how it goes.


Edited by wdahm519 - 6/26/11 at 9:26pm
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post #3 of 9
6/27/11 at 12:51pm
Thread Starter 

I did some searching and found Canare L-4E5C Miniature Star-Quad (0.189in O.D.) Audio Cable pretty cheap from markertek.com -- they also have some nice switchcraft connectors.  Is this pretty decent cable or would anyone recommend something else? I guess I am mostly confused on what diameter to get.  I am wanting something that is good quality but not overly rigid.  I have quite a bit of red 550 cord, I'm hoping I can find something that will fit inside it once I remove the white strands from the rope.  I think it'd look pretty neat.  Tomorrow I am going to try stuffing two pairs of Cat5 cable into some 550 cord to see how it feels.  I managed to secure myself a soldering iron but I have no solder.  Its a 110v one too... I will have to find a converter. 

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post #4 of 9
6/27/11 at 8:57pm

I have used Canare L-4E5C and Mogami 2893 and they are both excellent. They are about the same diameter (little bit thicker) as the stock M50 cable. The Canare is slightly more durable, and the Mogami is slightly thinner and more flexible. One clear advantage of the Mogami is that its 4 internal wires all have different colours, so you are less likely to mix up L vs R while soldering. Though this matters less if you have a multimeter to check the continuity.

 

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post #5 of 9
6/28/11 at 11:58am
Markertek should ship to APO's, as do most American companies.
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post #6 of 9
6/28/11 at 12:30pm
Thread Starter 

I just tried to order some wire and connectors from another website that seemed to have everything I wanted -- no APO!  $%^&^%$#%. 

 

You know its bad when your laying on the ground cause some jackass started shooting rockets at you -- but all you can think about is wanting to recable your M50's and how you wish you could go to some local store and pick up all the stuff to build an amp... ?  Haha. 

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post #7 of 9
6/28/11 at 1:06pm
Thread Starter 

I can't find the Mogami wire in red and sold per foot.  Can anyone with some bandwidth help me out?

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post #8 of 9
6/28/11 at 1:12pm

Aehmm.. I ve normally ordered it from Redco Audio but dont know this thing with APO :(

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post #9 of 9
6/28/11 at 6:45pm

Yes!  Cable in 550 cord... do it... do it now!

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