[sinetwo]

Hi all,

I just bought a pair of AKG K450, and I've noticed the cable is a bit on the thin side. Is there anything I can wrap around the cable, some sort of extra material or plastic that i might heat for it to coil around?

I'd hate to have it go against my keys or something in my pocket (highly unlikely though!) and cut the connection...

Any suggestions?

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinetwo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any suggestions?

You mean other than to tell you not to worry about it?

Thing is, anything you're likely to be able to get over the connector end probably wouldn't shrink/contract down to the same size as the cable and would probably look rather silly, not to mention affect the flexibility of the cable.

If this were something I was looking at doing, and since it's a single cable without a Y split, I'd have the cable braided over with cotton, trim off the excess, and dress up the ends with a little heatshrink.

The braid would be in intimate contact with the cable, the diameter would still be very close to the original, and it wouldn't have any appreciable effect on the cable's flexibility.

Not to mention it would look really cool.

se

 

[sinetwo]

Ah sounds like a good idea... Mind explaining the cotton in a bit more detail?

And also, what heatshrink (that's the word i was looking for!) solution would you recommend?

I'd obviously test this out on some other scrap cable I have before attempting to do this on my AKGs' one

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinetwo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ah sounds like a good idea... Mind explaining the cotton in a bit more detail?

Basically, the cable gets fed up through the middle of a braiding machine and the cotton is braided over the cable.

Quote:

And also, what heatshrink (that's the word i was looking for!) solution would you recommend?

I wouldn't recommend it if you value your cable's flexibility.

But if you want to give something a try, try Alpha's FIT 221 polyolefin heatshrink which is available from Mouser in 6' and 4' lengths.

Might want to order a 1/4" ID piece and a 3/8" ID piece since I'm not sure the 1/4" will fit over the plug end of your cable.

Are you here in the US? If so, I'd be happy to drop a foot or so of each in the mail to you so you could play with it and see if it's something you'd want to put on your cable.

Quote:

I'd obviously test this out on some other scrap cable I have before attempting to do this on my AKGs' one

Obviously.

se

 

[sinetwo]

Many thanks for the offer, but I'm in the UK unfortunately.

Wow that braiding thing looks sick! I don't have mechanisms like that handy, but do you know if it's possible to get cables braided on demand? E.g. I send my cable off and get it braided for a fee?

I would actually prefer to have a more sturdy and less flexible cable.

My Zagg z.buds for the iphone were braided, and they weren't that flexible but the little flexibility they had felt nice.

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinetwo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Many thanks for the offer, but I'm in the UK unfortunately.

Ah. Bummer.

Quote:

Wow that braiding thing looks sick! I don't have mechanisms like that handy, but do you know if it's possible to get cables braided on demand? E.g. I send my cable off and get it braided for a fee?

I'm not aware of anyone in the UK. I could have it done for you here, but once shipping and everything is factored in, you'd probably be looking at around $60US.

Quote:

I would actually prefer to have a more sturdy and less flexible cable. My Zagg z.buds for the iphone were braided, and they weren't that flexible but the little flexibility they had felt nice.

Understood.

se

 

[ccard3dev]

I also want to strengthen my headphone (Senn. HD 419) cable.  What solution would work best?