Number of Silver Strands

When homegrown audio, for example, talks about "strands," they're referring to the number of individual wires woven into a particular braided cable.  It's not a matter of durability, per se, but conductivity and thickness -- for example, a 3 conductor, 24 gauge braid will be thinner overall than a 4 conductor 24 gauge braid, but the individual "strands" making up the wire are the same thickness (24 gauge).  Also, more conductors means less flexibility.  With headphones, you're also not dealing with the type of power that you would with regular speakers, so you really don't need the type of electrical flow a 6 or 8 conductor braid would offer.  I would say, since flexibility, diameter, and overall weight are concerns for headphones, get the fewest number of conductors you need.  So for a single-sided mod, a 3 strand cable is fine, while if you're doing a new Y-style cable (similar to stock), you'd need 4 conductors/strands.  Just pay attention to the overall gauge rating -- you'd really gain no benefit by having more strands.

there is a difference between conductors, and strands. 

A 3 conductor wire, can have anywhere from 3 - 90 strands, depending on the type of wire (solid core, versus stranded). The more strands in a stranded wire, usually, the more flexible it is for the same AWG. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by liamstrain 

there is a difference between conductors, and strands. 

 

A 3 conductor wire, can have anywhere from 3 - 90 strands, depending on the type of wire (solid core, versus stranded). The more strands in a stranded wire, usually, the more flexible it is for the same AWG. 

True, but homegrown specifically gives a "strand" count for the braided cable, and then goes on to say they're using solid core silver wire.  So in their usage, they're just talking about the individual number of wires making up the braid.  At least that's how I interpret it.  Their website seems to indicate that all of their silver wire is solid core.

Ah - I just looked at their section on braided wire. How odd. 

Yep.  You could even go smaller in diameter (24 or 26 AWG).

A stereo plug has three connections on the inside -- one for a positive to the right channel, one for a positive to the left channel, and then a universal ground/negative.  If you look at a regular stereo plug, the black bands separate your connections, so the tip is one positive connection, the middle section is another, and then the rest is the ground.  I'll post a photo of the plug I wired up for reference.

Your stock Grado wire has four conductors -- a positive and negative for each channel, respectively, which separate at the Y, but both grounds are soldered to the same contact point in the 1/8" plug.

Edit:

That's the guts of your standard 1/8" plug.  The tab on the left, where the red wire is soldered, is connected to the tip of the plug, while the right tab, soldered to the white wire, connects to the middle section.  For my particular headphones, the red wire is the positive for the left channel and the white wire is the positive for the right.  Below those are two navy blue wires I twisted together and then soldered to the long metal tab that hooks around the rubber sheathing, which is for the ground.

Yep, that's exactly it.  My jack also has 5 tabs, but I only use three -- one for the right, one for the left, and then the ground.

Glad to help!