[MACDRU]

Cardas is great high quality cable but is pricey ($6 ft). I like switchcraft alot.

 

[lgn]

Thanks for the posts, guys, i look forward to trying new cables with my new k702

 

[Lil' Knight]

Anyone can confirm this ONE will work with the K702?
I have no idea if it will fit or not.

 

[boomy3555]

The link asks to log in !!!
Audiogear is where I get my Mini XLR connectors. I actually have a short 55" OFC 6.3 neutriks to 3 Pin Mini XLR OFC cable that I made but then sold my 702's.( see page 2 of this thread) There are two models of the 3 pin used on the K702's. One has a larger opening in the body for larger gauge cable.
Switchcraft Audio Connectors, Mini XLR Plugs

The TA3F is the small gauge and the TA3FL is for the larger gauge wire.

I use the TA4's for my Denon cable, so I could keep the four wire configuration


Here's an Identical one that is all black. It's Branded "Remote Audio" But I have had them both apart and other than the black plastic plug vs metal they are identical. and a little cheaper

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Connector.html

 

[Lil' Knight]

The link works to me, didn't ask to log in, strange...
Anyway, yeah, I was asking about the TA3FL which has larger entry hole.
So, both of the TA3F and TA3FL will fit the K702, right?

Is the "Remote Audio" the same size with the TA3FL or TA3F?

 

[boomy3555]

Yes they will fit and the remote audio is EXACTLY the same. I wouldn't be surprised if Remote Audio bought Swtichcraft's black version ( harder to find) and re-branded them. Actualy none of them actualy have a name on them anywhere. The Black is a little more subdued but the metal is more "Pro" looking. The Pins are gold plated on the Remote Audio
The one downside is the cable opening. As you can see in my PICs on page 2, I had to use some of my extra Pailiccs bodys for the larger gauge wire. You can see my TA4's on my Denons over in the Denon thread.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/den...3/index57.html

 

[grossebeaver]

So far I've tried recabling my K702s using the Mogami W2534, W2893, Canare L-4E6S, and 22 AWG solid silver wire from HGA. I was kind of disappointed with the W2893, since it didn't offer much of an improvement over the stock cable. The silver wire offered some nice improvements to the soundstage, and overall clarity, however it was a bit on the bright side for these cans, and also was far too stiff to be practical. For the price the Canare L-4E6S offered a nice improvement over the stock cable, however for a bit more, the W2534 really offered a bit more clarity across a wider spectrum and in general seemed to be more neutral. For the connectors, I used a Switchcraft mini-xlr plug (with a black metal barrel from a Switchcraft 3.5mm adapter), and a Furutech 6.3mm plug.

Anyone have any experience with silverplated copper, silver stranded, or 26-28 AWG solid core wire for use in these headphones? Also I noticed someone mentioned a Cardas quad cable but haven't seen any offered on the sites that I usually shop from.

 

[crazyeyes]

Hey guys, I just bought a pair of AKG K702's I was thinking of making my own cable for them. My dad has made cables before and has a soldering iron. I was just wondering what cable are most people going with and what mini-xlr connector.

I see most are using a 4 conductor cable, if I use a 4 conductor cable do you solder two conductors to each channel for left and right? then what do you use for the ground? or if you use one for the ground and one for each channel, then what do you do with the 4th conductor, I just haven't ever used a cable that had more conductors than needed, but for some reason seems to be what most of the high end cables are made of, just wondering if someone could give me some insight on how to assemble it?

 

[boomy3555]

On the 702's, both Rt and left side share a common ground so 4 wire is not necessary but more common as many DIY's use it. I use Remote Audio 3 pin Mini XLR ( Headphone end) from here B&H photo

Canare star quad cable LE45C

And Neutriks 3.5 connector for the other end

The Canare cable is soft and flexible so braided sleeving is a matter of personal choice.

 

[crazyeyes]

Thanks for the info, sorry to sound repetitive though, when you use a 4 conductor cable as you have what do you do with the 4th conductor? Like I said I know with a 3 conductor you use one for each channel and then one for ground, but on a 4 conductor what do you do with that 4th conductor?

Thanks
Alex

 

[boomy3555]

I twist the two grnds together and solder to the grnd connection. You could simply cut one off at both ends but why not let it do some of the work.

 

[crazyeyes]

Ok that makes sense. I wasn't sure if people used it for anything or just let it sit there unused. Well I might end up going with a more expensive cable but not sure.

 

[JCtheMC]

Hey everyone,

I just put my order in for a K702, and i've been looking at this thread to gather info on how to get a replacement cable. Now if i understood you all correctly, these are the best parts to use:

Neutrik NYS231L Male 1/8" TRS stereo plug (has a larger opening for the cable)
Mogami W2534 4 Conductor 24awg Cable
Switchcraft TA3F Female 3 pin mini-Xlr connector (the TA3FL might be a better option, but i'm not sure which part of this is actually larger)

All of those are available from Performance Audio, will run you about $10 for the connectors and less than $1 a foot for the cable.

And this is a great place to find Braided Sleeving or Heatshrink Rubber to make your cable look more professional:
CableOrganizer.com
Expandable Sleeving, Fiberglass Sleeving, Braided Sleeving, Cable Sleeving, Thermashield
Heat Shrink Tubing, Heat Shrink Bands, High Temperature shrinkable Sleeves and heat guns

Now i've gathered all this info, but i can't solder at all (which is why i'm going to practice this weekend) so i thought i'd shoot the people Redco Audio an email, to get it custom made from them with slightly different parts. Their custom cable service is very cheap, so it was worth a short. When i asked for a custom cable with these parts:

Cable Type: W2534 Mogami Quad Mic
Connector 1: F12 Canare Male Stereo Mini(1)
Connector 2: Redco Mini 3 pin Female XLR

I got a reply from Redco saying the Mogami W2534 cable will not fit in their 3pin Female XLR connector, nor will it fit in the TA3F connector.
Now i don't know who to trust. I'm at the point where i just want to order the parts from Performance Audio and try to put it together myself, but seeing i live in Europe and the shipping is going to run me almost as much as the parts, i want to be sure i order the correct ones.

Could someone who's actually made a cable with a W2534 and a TA3F weigh in?

 

[boomy3555]

The W2534 is a larger diameter than the stock opening on both the standard 3.5 stereo plug as well as the TA3F. It is even too large for the TA3FL ( Larger opening). I use my Dremel with a small chain saw sharpening bit to open it up to a larger diameter. The Canare Star Quad LE46S is the same size as the Mogami 2534 and is what I use. Both Mogami and Canare have a slightly smaller diameter star quad cable
Canare Corp.: Star Quad Series: Star Quad Microphone cable(L-4E6S / L-4E5C)

MOGAMI® - Neglex Quad Microphone Cables

that will fit the TA3FL and Canare is availlable in colors. You will still need to Dremel out the body of the 3.5 stereo plug and you may even still need to Dremel the opening of the TA3FL slightly to accomodate any heat shrink you may use. Also the sheilding ring that must be threaded over the cable before soldering is too small for the two larger cables and if it is too close to the end while soldering, it too will shrink from the heat of soldering and will not fit into it's place in the connector.
Many custom cable makers shy away from 3.5 and mini xlr because it is difficult and time consuming to work with such small connectors when most audiophiles have found that these microphone cables from Mogami and Canare are about the smallest diameter cable you can use for any significant SQ value.

 

[JCtheMC]

I'd consider going down to a slimmer cable like Mogami W2893 or the Canare L-4E5C, but what i gather from the replies here, much better results are achieved with the regular 6 mm versions of those, the W2543 and L-4E6S.

Chris from Redco told me there's no sonic difference between the W2893 and W2543 when you use it to connect cans. According to you guys, there is. At this point the only option seems to be to just make a couple of cables and try them all out.