[MrKitty]

Hi everyone,
I just got my k518LE and the fact that each cup has it's own wire going to it kinda bugs, so I've decided to mod them to be single sided and have a detachable cable.
I've done some searching on the forums and found a few people who've done this before, and yet I still have some lack in basic knowledge.
I was looking around eBay for one of those sockets for the jack to go into and found that not all are the same and I'm not exactly sure which one is suited for this particular project, I've found ones with 3 and 4 contacts (even 5 and 6 but those are definitely not what I need) if I understood the wiring correctly then I would need the 3 contact one since I've got 2 different signals and 2 grounding leads so that means I need 2 different contacts for the signals and I can connect both driver's grounding leads to the same contact? Tell me if I got that right or not.

Next is the cable/connector, it would seem there's some debate about Canare vs. Mogami starquads but that's not what I'm having trouble understanding, my problem is which particular model do I use i.e. Mogami w2534 or w2893 I understand they are different thicknesses, will picking the thicker w2534 mean I would not be able to use with say a neutrik 3.5mm connector?

Another question that might seem utterly stupid but I still want to ask it, I've seen plenty of threads about cables and their flexibility and other qualities, but I haven't seen any recabling done with silicone cables/wire they are pretty flexible and soft, I know they are mainly used as high voltage power cables but they can be also found in 24 AWG and I've always wondered why hasn't anyone used them for a recabling job any particular reason?

One more question regarding cables, I've seen people strip Mogami/Canare cables and use the inner wires by themselves without the shield and braiding together, are there any risks to doing that compared to using them as they are with the shield? And while we're at self braided quad cables, I've seen people sleeve them with tech flex, had anyone ever tried sleeving each individual wire and then branding them together? It would look much cooler IMO since you could use different color sleeving.

EDIT: I've had sort of an idea... Since I'll be using these on the computer as well, I thought about making another 3.5 mm socket on the other cup so I could attach one of those detachable microphones
(I.e. http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=130737408612&index=6&nav=SEARCH&nid=04860212479 )
Obviously I'll have to be using a different cable then then one for portable use, but then how exactly do I wire this thing up? Can I use one of these 3 black rings connectors? You know like when mobile phone earphones come with a built in mic they have this three flange 3.5 mm connector, so I use that on the headphone side and two normal 3.5 mm connectors on the PC side? (one for the mic one for the headphone?) I assume a different socket plug will have to be used as well? I'd love some help on the matter if possible =]

I think that's it and I appologies for any stupidity that may reside in my questions and I thank you in advance for your help =]

 

[juanharu4913]

The type of female connector u use shouldn't really matter as long as it has its 3 prongs, the real issue with something like this is getting the female connector sit in the cup nicely without looking like trash. The second thing is u have to have a plan on how your getting ur + and - over to the other side since u want it single entry, which in my mind is the harder part to do (well do it nicely). As far as cabling goes it's what ur comfortable using, ie the 2534 is HUGE when its not stripped, (im currently recabling my ladys headphones with it xD) so u'll need to be skilled squeezing it into the connector or get a bigger connector. And as far as sleeving everything etc etc a lot of its very minimual differences in sound from interference etc so if i was you i wouldn't be worried if u try something for the looks. And finally the mic, you would need either 2 cables or a connector with 3 +, the other way is using something like the 4 wired cable and just having 2 connectors at the bottom instead of 1. so u would all share the - but have +=left +=right +=mic 
 
ps hopefully this helped, this is my first post in years xD 

 

[MrKitty]

Thanks for the reply,
 
I've visited a local electronics store and bought a few female 3.5 panel mount jacks that look exacly like these but they are white
http://www.ebay.com/itm/STEREO-CHASSIS-SOCKET-3-5MM-STEREO-PANEL-SOCKET-/261019611128?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item3cc5fb2ff8#ht_3737wt_934
Saved the wait for something like this to arrive from china or some place else and the shipping costs.
 
Also ordered Canare L-4E5C from Redco since Markertek doesn't ship internationally unless you order 100$+
Neutrik 3.5 mm connectors
Some multifilament techflex sleeving (3/16")
And some white BluTack to cover the inside of the cups
 
I don't think that routing the cable from one cup to another would be that big of a problem, I'll just strip 2 pieces of cable and use 5 wires I'll route all 5 from the right cup to the left one and connect 2 to the left driver and 3 to the mic, and I'll just have two
3.5mm jacks on the right cup one for the sound input, and the second for the mic. I'll cover all the jacks from the inside with the BluTack so the cups won't leak sound for when I'm no using all of the jacks or due to the fact that I've drilled a few holes (for the jacks) so I'll try to make it as sealed as possible after the modification.
 
I'll post some pictures when I get all the parts.