Richark911
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 9, 2006
- Posts
- 26
- Likes
- 0
Hi head-fiers, I plan to start making my own audio cables. After browsing the DIY thread, cable making seems to be fun and rewarding. Since I am only a beginner, I plan to get only decent materials, nothing over the top, having little experience. After browsing a few of the recommended online stores, I think that I am going to be buying from redco. They seem to have fair prices and a nice selection.
After reading the forums for a while, I noticed that the popular cables seem to be the Canare Starquad (L-4E6S) and the Mogami cable (I'm not sure which one...is it the W2534 Quad Mic Cable?). They seem to be fairly cheap so I think that I am going to be using either one of them. How do the two compare sound-wise, size-wise, and flexibility-wise?
Next, the connectors. The Canare F12 mini plug also seems to be quite popular in these forums, and the price is right, so I think that it is a good choice for me. I notice that many of the DIYers here remove the sping from the F12 plug. I think that the strain-relief looks pretty cool...is there any reason that it is removed by so many of you? Redco also has the Neutrik NYS 231L mini plug, which is nice and small, so I am also considering getting some for tighter places. I think that I will also be needing some RCA connectors. The Neutrik Pro-Fi seems to be a tad expensive for me, so I think that I will not consider that connector, maybe I will get them in the future. But the Canare F10 seems to be in the right price range for me. I was just wondering if the above mentioned cables would fit into the connectors mentioned here.
I understand that in order to make a mini to RCA, I must remove the coating of the quad cable and split it into two pairs of wires. I am not positive, but I think that I will be needing heatshrink to wrap these pairs of wires. I was just wondering what size heatshrink would be best for wrapping the wires. I assume that it would have to be very small, but I am not sure of the exact measurement. Redco seems to carry many sizes of heatshrink, so if anybody knows, please help.
Also, I believe that heatshrink is needed to cover the Y-split of the mini to RCA cable. What size heatshrink is best?
BTW, I have a hair dryer, Radioshack silver-bearing solder, and a Radioshack 15W 30W switchable soldering iron to use. Which wattage is preferable for soldering these cables?
Thank you for taking your time to consider my questions!
After reading the forums for a while, I noticed that the popular cables seem to be the Canare Starquad (L-4E6S) and the Mogami cable (I'm not sure which one...is it the W2534 Quad Mic Cable?). They seem to be fairly cheap so I think that I am going to be using either one of them. How do the two compare sound-wise, size-wise, and flexibility-wise?
Next, the connectors. The Canare F12 mini plug also seems to be quite popular in these forums, and the price is right, so I think that it is a good choice for me. I notice that many of the DIYers here remove the sping from the F12 plug. I think that the strain-relief looks pretty cool...is there any reason that it is removed by so many of you? Redco also has the Neutrik NYS 231L mini plug, which is nice and small, so I am also considering getting some for tighter places. I think that I will also be needing some RCA connectors. The Neutrik Pro-Fi seems to be a tad expensive for me, so I think that I will not consider that connector, maybe I will get them in the future. But the Canare F10 seems to be in the right price range for me. I was just wondering if the above mentioned cables would fit into the connectors mentioned here.
I understand that in order to make a mini to RCA, I must remove the coating of the quad cable and split it into two pairs of wires. I am not positive, but I think that I will be needing heatshrink to wrap these pairs of wires. I was just wondering what size heatshrink would be best for wrapping the wires. I assume that it would have to be very small, but I am not sure of the exact measurement. Redco seems to carry many sizes of heatshrink, so if anybody knows, please help.
Also, I believe that heatshrink is needed to cover the Y-split of the mini to RCA cable. What size heatshrink is best?
BTW, I have a hair dryer, Radioshack silver-bearing solder, and a Radioshack 15W 30W switchable soldering iron to use. Which wattage is preferable for soldering these cables?
Thank you for taking your time to consider my questions!