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Help soldering cardas starquad to 2 x mini xlr

post #1 of 9
12/6/11 at 5:18pm
Thread Starter 

Hi All,

 

I'm in the middle of my first DIY grado woodie build (I bet you're all sick of reading that) and thought i'd do a recable whilst im at it. Sadly the original grado cable has seen better days.

 

I want to terminate my cardas 4x24 with a 6.3mm jack to 2 x mini xlr (3 pin). Can I do this with one length of cable splitting the silver shielding and 4 cores between each xlr plug?

 

Am I better off buying another run of cable and doubling it up on the jack end?

 

I was inspired by this:

 

http://martincustomaudio.blogspot.com/2011/09/cocobolo-mini-xlr-jacks-magnum-v3-grado.html

 

Made me drool tongue_smile.gif so I got the wood and the cable.

 

Any help/diagrams would really be appreciated.

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post #2 of 9
12/6/11 at 6:47pm

It looks in the pix like he used 4-pin mini's and just doubled up on the wiring; two wires to each side of the each driver.

 

So, yes, you can use 3-pins and just use two of the connections. I split my cables about a foot below the 'phones.

 

You do know that the Cardas cabling is enameled, right?

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post #3 of 9
12/6/11 at 7:27pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks Funch.

 

Should I not bother trying to split the silver braid for grounding on each of the pin 1?

 

 

http://www.takefiveaudio.com/mall/shopexd.asp?id=809

 

No mention of it being "litz wire" I was hoping I got away with it....if not i'll have to beg borrow or steal a solder pot.

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post #4 of 9
12/6/11 at 8:09pm

I wouldn't bother with pin 1 grounding... just ground the amp/connector side of the shielding (to give it a drain). 

 

 

I don't think the starquad cardas is enameled. You should be fine. 

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post #5 of 9
12/7/11 at 2:23am
Thread Starter 

Thanks liamstrain - that's great news, saved me a lot of pain there.

 

I can concentrate on turning my drill press into a wood lathe to turn those woodies. normal_smile%20.gif

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post #6 of 9
12/7/11 at 8:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by liamstrain View Post

I wouldn't bother with pin 1 grounding... just ground the amp/connector side of the shielding (to give it a drain). 

 

 

I don't think the starquad cardas is enameled. You should be fine. 


 

That's exactly how Cardas does their 'phone plugs; connect the shielding to the ground of the TRS plug. 

 

If the cable you're using is the type Cardas uses for headphones, then it is enameled, at least the stuff with the blue jacket that

I've used. Since I'm too cheap to buy a solder pot, I just fan the strands out, use a hobby knife to scrape off the coating from each

side, then tin it, leaving the iron on it for a few extra moments to bubble up the remaining coating. Then I use the iron to wipe it off.

The insulation is Teflon, so it doesn't shrink back like the 'regular' stuff does. FWIW

 

 


Edited by funch - 12/7/11 at 8:35am
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post #7 of 9
12/7/11 at 8:49am

This type of cable should not have enameled strands (no point). But I'm willing to be surprised. If it is enameled, it's just one more reason to go with Mogami. :D

 

4X24.jpg


Edited by liamstrain - 12/7/11 at 8:53am
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post #8 of 9
12/7/11 at 9:35am

Hmmmm. Somewhere, I've got a small leftover piece of the Cardas quad. I'm gonna have to double check that. 

 

You're right about the Mogami. Bang-for-the-buck, it's very hard, if not impossible to beat. Unless I already

had some of the Cardas, that's what I would do (did in fact on my Plastic Pantz T50RP mod).


Edited by funch - 12/7/11 at 9:37am
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post #9 of 9
12/7/11 at 12:25pm
Thread Starter 

Right I will use the ground pin on the jack and forgo the ones on the xlr plugs - saves me trying to separate the silver braid. I'll have my hands full scraping cables by the looks of things. 

 

Lesson learned. This is my first time attempting to mod/re-cable my cans. If I make up a longer run I will use Mogami - Only went for the cardas as I only needed a very short run of cable.

 

I've scraped a blade against the strands and something seems to be coming off....

 

Perhaps I can use a makeshift solder pot.

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