[limpidglitch]

Nice little advert you made there, Kayito. If that doesn't turn out I'd follow jageur's advice, alternatively use some basic quad microphone cable, like Mogami W2534. Plenty of info to go by in the cable gallery and elsewhere in the DIY section.

Oooh, action already

 

[jageur272]

Quote:

Originally Posted by limpidglitch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice little advert you made there, Kayito. If that doesn't turn out I'd follow jageur's advice, alternatively use some basic quad microphone cable, like Mogami W2534. Plenty of info to go by in the cable gallery and elsewhere in the DIY section. Oooh, action already

Starquad is very convenient, but some people consider it stiffer. A cheaper alternative to Mogami is Canare L-4E6S. Neutrik makes nice plugs for terminating.

 

[Kayito-san]

As long as it coils-- tolerably-- I'll take it. I see that the Starquad is 4 lines in the wire, whereas the Canare is 2; I'll be running my Grados from:
1/4" plug > 1/8" plug adapter > iPod Touch
1/4" plug > Hüghes & Kettner R60-Blue Guitar amp (I use Grados for monitoring)
1/4" plug > Some future DIY amp* > 1/8" plug adapter [or 1/4" to USB hookup] > MacBook Pro / iPod Touch

Will I need the 4 wires? If Starquad is a favorite among DIYers, what are they using the 4th line for?
If the Canare has only 2 lines, is there a need for an extra grounding line?
--Or have I been grossly misinformed on the workings of headphone cabling?

* I'm hoping to acquire a DIY portable headphone amp in the future. [Mini^3 or other]

 

[limpidglitch]

Left, Right and Ground, that's three alright, but there needs to be a ground for both drivers (shared in the plug when un-balanced), hence 4.

F.ex.:http://www.head-fi.org/forums/5430627-post3805.html

 

[jageur272]

Both Mogami and Canare Starquad have 4 wires (thus the "quad" in the name).

What you'll want to do is hook up each driver with a + and a -, thus you'll need 4 wires for 2 drivers. If you want more in depth instructions, PM me (or a [much] more qualified DIYer, there are plenty of them out there )

 

[Kayito-san]

Quote:

Originally Posted by limpidglitch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Left, Right and Ground, that's three alright, but there needs to be a ground for both drivers (shared in the plug when un-balanced), hence 4. F.ex.:http://www.head-fi.org/forums/5430627-post3805.html

Well hang on then; The cable is a Y connection and 1/4" plugs have 3 connections; ONE for left, ONE for right and ONE for ground (why bother with two separate lines when they can be merged at the Y connection?) So that's three for the first length of wire. Each cup then needs three lines, for + and -, and for ground...

Quote:

Originally Posted by jageur272 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Both Mogami and Canare Starquad have 4 wires (thus the "quad" in the name). What you'll want to do is hook up each driver with a + and a -, thus you'll need 4 wires for 2 drivers. If you want more in depth instructions, PM me (or a [much] more qualified DIYer, there are plenty of them out there )

So, if each cup needs a + and -, and a ground, and the grounds can be merged at the Y, how do you merge the + and - from each cup, while maintaining the distinct paths between them, into the three connections provided by the line jack?

TL;DR, This is my question.

 

[limpidglitch]

– and + isn't left and right, but to and fro. A driver is pretty much just a simple resistance on a wire that makes sound when electrons travel through.
The ground is as said shared on unbalanced designs, you can choose wether you want to merge them at the Y split or at the plug. Using a quad and merging them at the plug is usually the simplest, and therefore the most commonly used on head-fi.

 

[Kayito-san]

Quote:

Originally Posted by limpidglitch /img/forum/go_quote.gif – and + isn't left and right, but to and fro. A driver is pretty much just a simple resistance on a wire that makes sound when electrons travel through. The ground is as said shared on unbalanced designs, you can choose wether you want to merge them at the Y split or at the plug. Using a quad and merging them at the plug is usually the simplest, and therefore the most commonly used on head-fi.

I realize this. What I'm wondering is this:

If each driver (2) has – (in) and + (out), and a ground, that's 6 lines total;
The left and right channels need to be kept separate, correct.
The two grounds can be merged; 6 --> 5 lines.

 

[jageur272]

Umm... Not quite. The minus is the ground. So, you only need 2 wires per driver. The + is the "hot" wire, which goes to either the tip (left) or the ring (right) of a stereo plug. Both of the minuses are the grounds which connect to the sleeve of the stereo plug. This is for an unbalanced setup. Please PM me for more details.

 

[limpidglitch]

– is ground, + is signal. Each driver has 1+ and 1–. The – is shared by both, the 2+ are 1 left and one right signal. Total is three contact points on the plug, but four wires since ground must be split to go to each driver.

As you can see in my sorry little drawing above. Three wires at the plug, two at each driver.

 

[Kayito-san]

Ah, I think I get it now. Thank you both very much.