How much does this cable cost to make?
Oct 30, 2012 at 7:05 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 4

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There's a cable I've been looking at for my HiFiMan HE-400's. It's the 2.5 meter cable from Q-audio (http://www.q-audio.com/). If that cable was DIY'd, how much would the materials cost? They say they're using 220 strand litz wire and silk sleeving, terminated to a 1/4".
 
Oct 30, 2012 at 11:00 PM Post #2 of 4
Well, that is custom braided silk from France.  Unless you have a braiding machine, you will have to try to find silk sleeving, which is not easy to find in different colors.  As for the litz wire, unless it is a custom creation, you should be able to find something close for a reasonable price. 
 
I made this:
 
A reasonable homage to Q-audio out of Type 1 micro paracord as the sleeving, Doublehelixcables Nucleotide UPOCC wire (not litz).  It is 6ft long, so to get to 2.5 meters, it would have cost me over $100.  Total cost as it is was $75.  That doesn't include the wood covers which were a sample from someone.  I would imagine litz wire could be found slightly cheaper than the $2/ft if it is a standard size made.  Ebay had a reasonable selection last I checked.  I have a feeling Q-audio probably uses something nicer than the stuff you can get bulk from China, though.  Silk sleeving would definitely be more expensive than the micro paracord that I used.  I found some white silk sleeving for $1 a foot which is $0.80 more a foot than the cord.  So you might save yourself some money if you can source the parts.  Sleeving each wire literally took a couple hours so consider what your time (or someone else's is) when looking at cost.  If I valued my time at $25 an hour (on the low side), add another $75 to the cost.  So now the "cost" is closing in on $200 without consideration for the time spent sourcing all the components.  Overall, Q-audio seems like a good value.  
 
Oct 30, 2012 at 11:10 PM Post #4 of 4
Quote:
Well, that is custom braided silk from France.  Unless you have a braiding machine, you will have to try to find silk sleeving, which is not easy to find in different colors.  As for the litz wire, unless it is a custom creation, you should be able to find something close for a reasonable price. 
 
I made this:
 
A reasonable homage to Q-audio out of Type 1 micro paracord as the sleeving, Doublehelixcables Nucleotide UPOCC wire (not litz).  It is 6ft long, so to get to 2.5 meters, it would have cost me over $100.  Total cost as it is was $75.  That doesn't include the wood covers which were a sample from someone.  I would imagine litz wire could be found slightly cheaper than the $2/ft if it is a standard size made.  Ebay had a reasonable selection last I checked.  I have a feeling Q-audio probably uses something nicer than the stuff you can get bulk from China, though.  Silk sleeving would definitely be more expensive than the micro paracord that I used.  I found some white silk sleeving for $1 a foot which is $0.80 more a foot than the cord.  So you might save yourself some money if you can source the parts.  Sleeving each wire literally took a couple hours so consider what your time (or someone else's is) when looking at cost.  If I valued my time at $25 an hour (on the low side), add another $75 to the cost.  So now the "cost" is closing in on $200 without consideration for the time spent sourcing all the components.  Overall, Q-audio seems like a good value.  

I wasn't going to buy that cable but now that I know it's a bargain, I think I will.
 

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