[tomb]

After reading countless threads from searching, I've just about decided to make/braid my own SPC from Navships for a pair of HD580's. I love the effect that a Cardas cable has had, but switched it recently to a new pair of HD600's. The 600's sound great, but now the 580's sound a bit dull with the stock cable.

Anyway, I've bought all my hookup cable from John's Silver Teflon Wire Shop (his store name), but there's a wide variance. We're talking 22ga wire, but some is flexible, some is like a rock - same description of teflon, 22ga wire.

So, if I were to purchase 24ga SPC from him for headphone re-cabling, what would you guys recommend -
- 24ga teflon
- 24ga teflon 19 stranded
- 24ga kapton with teflon sheath - like this for instance: 50' 24 AWG Silver Kapton Teflon Wire White Violet?

Thanks.

 

[FallenAngel]

Hey buddy,

I've done quite a few recable jobs with his SPC, I always use 19 strand 24AWG Teflon wire (even if not specified in the title, most wire has 19 strands). It's very thin, easy to work with and you can easily wrap a 4-wire braid around 2 fingers without any damage to the cable (as people like to stuff portable headphones into pockets, this is really important).

I would personally say skip the Kapton stuff, it's just an extra shielding to get rid of, usually makes the wire a little stiffer and really doesn't do anything good for this application.

Also, pay close attention to the OD on the wire, I've seen very different outer diameter widths of 24AWG wires.

I would suggest:
50' 24 AWG Silver Teflon Wire Black 19 strands

 

[tomb]

Thanks - I was hoping you'd reply, knowing that you had tried some of this stuff. That's good to know about the Kapton stuff because he says it's thinner, but if it's stiffer - that's no good. I will watch the OD size - that's probably the source of my issue with the 22ga hookup I've bought.

Many thanks for the specific link.

 

[Televator]

I bought some 24awg kapton from navships in two colors (same specs) and one was rather stiff (the orange) and one was very supple (violet)...

It is still supple enough to use as a headphone cable (worked well on my SR-60); my nylon sheeting is stiffer than the innards actually... and it does sound great

If I need to order some more, I'll probably go for regular teflon... but more to try different thing than because I'm not happy with this stuff ('cause I really am

)

 

[tomb]

Thanks - I'm going to try some Mogami, too - another DIYer mentioned that they had good results with that.

Do you guys do that Litz braid technique with the Navships stuff?

 

[Televator]

I did the four-wire litz as explained in MaSantos's tutorial (left wire two to the right (so it becomes the third wire from the left), right wire one to the left, repeat infinitely

) and twisted pairs after the split... worked like a charm

 

[ruZZ.il]

wow looks like a good deal for some good wire! its about time I get some wiring too... I've just been playing with 'pure' silver stuff for little interconnects and stuff. need to play more <fiddles fingers>. =]
thanks for the thread.

 

[fierce_freak]

I used a square braid when I recabled my first pair of D2000...I'll probably try litz or something else for my next recable (when I finally get the guts to open the RS-1)

 

[Fitz]

I personally wouldn't use wire insulated with kapton + teflon film for something that needs the flexibility and suppleness of a headphone cable. It is very springy and good for maintaining the wire's shape without small bends / kinks, but will likely be a bit frustrating to actually use. Stick with just plain teflon insulation, and go with 19-strand instead of 7-strand whenever possible.

I could be wrong though, since I've never used kapton + teflon wire from navships, and my experience with the wire is limited just to Airbus wiring, which I've never made any braided cables with.

 

[ericj]

It would be most helpful if this guy would tell you which MIL specs each wire adheres to.

Most of the PTFE insulated wire is specified as Highly Abrasion Resistant - this is the stiff stuff.

Some of it is double insulated with an outer jacket that is more abrasion resistant than the temperature-resistant first layer, this stuff is even stiffer.

If he gives you a mil spec number, you can generally google it.

Fwiw, I no longer trust "Teflon" as a name for insulation.

When you and i think "Teflon" we think "That fantastically inert poly-tetra-fluoro stuff" -- DuPont knows this, so they have re-branded "Teflon" to refer to a whole line of fluridated polymers.

Nearly all of the "Teflon(r) Insulated" Cat5e on the market is insulated with FEP rather than PTFE, for example. It's just Teflon(r)-brand FEP.

 

[holland]

He does on some wires. Yes, it's PTFE. It can get stiff, and microphonic if doing braids. It's definitely not soft and supple, like OEM cables, it bends and stays bent.

It wouldn't be my first choice for headphone cables, but I personally wouldn't find it an issue if it was.

 

[FallenAngel]

I've been lucky with all 24AWG wires, no problems with staying bent, it's always extremely flexible. Just like I've had the worst of luck with every 22AWG cable I've ordered, they're all extremely stiff and practically useless. Maybe I'll whip up some RCA-RCA IC's with them, because they're certainly useless in short lengths. Mind you, I've probably ordered 1000ft of cable from the guy by now

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif When you and i think "Teflon" we think "That fantastically inert poly-tetra-fluoro stuff" -- DuPont knows this, so they have re-branded "Teflon" to refer to a whole line of fluridated polymers.

Yeah, I often use "Teflon" and "PTFE" interchangeably, but wouldn't buy wire advertised as using Teflon unless it specifies that it's PTFE.


Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mind you, I've probably ordered 1000ft of cable from the guy by now

You should really start looking elsewhere for wire then, because he charges a premium for the wire being in short lengths, which is nice if you only need a little of a few different kinds, but a rip-off if you need a lot of any one kind.

 

[holland]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif You should really start looking elsewhere for wire then, because he charges a premium for the wire being in short lengths, which is nice if you only need a little of a few different kinds, but a rip-off if you need a lot of any one kind.

Do you have any recommendations? I just bought a bunch of wire from him as well, I use it as hook up wire, so it doesn't hurt to stock up on different colors in 50' lengths. It would still be nice to be able to order just enough for a headphone recable though, for instance.

 

[cms5423]

To revive an old thread

I Have a question on this:

How is the 24 awg teflon SPC wire from Jon's wire (navships) for recabling--based on audio quality? I ask because I hear everyone recabling the HFI-780s with really expensive wire. Would using SPC from Jon's wire shop still be an upgrade to the HFI 780 cable? Why do people dislike the stock cable so much? Thanks guys