[clintinz]

I would really like to make up some heaphone extensions out of a braided cloth cable like this

 
anyone know if you can buy the cable or use other cable for the job. This one is a standard lamp cord

3 core | Braided | Woven Textile Outer | Extra-Safe PVC Double Insulated 

[size=medium] CSA (mm²):          0.75 (24 x 0.2) 
Current Rating:   4 amp 
Weight:                41g per metre 
Diameter:            8mm [/size]

[size=medium] 3 core cord including earth wire.[/size]

 
It looks like you can pick up the male & female ends on ebay easy enough so just need to get the cable. 
 
Any help will be much appreciated!
 
Cheers

 

[FraGGleR]

It's a little thick and heavy, but you could use the cord you pictured. I don't know if you are sold on cotton as the sleeving, but nylon multifilament or nylon paracord can be used to nice effect. Otherwise you might need to find someone who has access to braiding machine and get some lengths of wire custom sleeved.

 

[sfoclt]

I was just contemplating the same project this weekend.  

 

[FraGGleR]

You could also try to find some vintage cable (Western Electric).  Most was made with cotton covering.  I bought some silver plated copper from this store and they have some cloth covered wire:  http://stores.ebay.com/citiysystem88-stores?_trksid=p4340.l2563
 

 

[clintinz]

Thanks for the fast replies guys. FraGGIeR - with the western electric cable do you mean I could use the braiding or the cable also? I thought a headphone cable had 3 separate cables for left, right and earth?
 
I don't have a preference if it is cloth or nylon, it is hard enough to find anything, especially down here in New Zealand. However I did find this post on another site and think it is quite applicable to my situation. Just need to find the parts.
 
Speaking of which I am struggling to find a source for the male & female ends of the extension. There seems to be endless sources for a male end, none particularly attractive, but absolutely none for female ends. Any ideas?

 

[FraGGleR]

Hmm, I was thinking just use the cable, but if you can remove the sleeving, then that opens things up for you.  You could use the shield as a ground channel.  I think that is done in some stock cables.  Or you can see if you can find a three or four channel wire.  The only thing is that with true old wiring, often times the sleeve was bonded to the cable with wax.  
 
Paracord, shoelaces, nylon rope, and anything else that has a separate core from the outer sheath is play for you.  I am not sure about sources in New Zealand nor the ease of shipping from websites, but Amazon.com has paracord, as does ebay.  To fit around a manufactured cable, you will most likely be dealing with 750 lb rated cord (by US standards), which is Type 4 in other nomenclature.  As for the other stuff, you can poke around hardware or fabric stores to see if there are any cords or laces that you can use.  
 
Are you looking for 3.5mm or 6.5mm ends?  Below are some links to products at shops that I use, but I can't make any promises about shipping internationally.
 
These are audio industry standard stuff which should hold up to routine use:
3.5mm:  http://www.redco.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=45&cat=Mini%2F3%2E5mm+%2B+2%2E5mm+Connectors
6.5mm:  http://www.redco.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=61&cat=TRS+Connectors
 
This is a website in China that has some very interesting looking connectors for reasonable prices.  Not authentic on some of the brands, but to be honest, the quality isn't all that bad (and some stuff is quite nice): 
http://www.lunashops.com/category.php?id=12
 
This should get you started and give you an idea of what to look for.  Good luck!

 

[audioffile]

Quote:

 
Paracord, shoelaces, nylon rope, and anything else that has a separate core from the outer sheath is play for you.  I am not sure about sources in New Zealand nor the ease of shipping from websites, but Amazon.com has paracord, as does ebay.  To fit around a manufactured cable, you will most likely be dealing with 750 lb rated cord (by US standards), which is Type 4 in other nomenclature.  As for the other stuff, you can poke around hardware or fabric stores to see if there are any cords or laces that you can use.  

 
I really like sheathed cables too and was wondering how to add a sheath to some of my cables. Once you find your source for a sheath, how do you get it over your cable? Is there some technique to this?

 

[rickstalker]

thanks.

 

[65535]

Quote:

 
I really like sheathed cables too and was wondering how to add a sheath to some of my cables. Once you find your source for a sheath, how do you get it over your cable? Is there some technique to this?

You got to inch it on, it's really a labor of love, it's not that it's hard it just is quite time consuming. 
 
I've used TechFlex Nylon Multifilament which comes in a good variety of sizes and it's very durable with a good fabric feel, not quite as soft as cotton but still cloth. The downside being it's only available in black.

 

[KimChee]

It's a pain to sheath wires, I mark them and then use electrical tape around the end, so it's one big piece, then milk it through the sleeve.  i recently bought 50 feet of the 750 type IV 11 strand paracord, and it was a bit smaller than I was hoping, to be honest it wasn't all that much bigger than the 550 paracord I bought off ebay.  I got 8 wires through the sleeving, but it was hassle.  I was thinking about the french sleeving that companies like Toxic Cables uses, I could not even get a 4 wire round braid through the paracord, and I'd like something soft like cotton.  I've tried techflex and it's a little too inflexible, plus the outside covering is plastic feeling.

 

[65535]

Techflex makes a LOT of sleeving products, were you using one of their expanding sleeving materials? Or were you using their nylon mulitfilament cloth cover?

 

[KimChee]

I didn't know the multifilament was cloth like I should have read your post above lol.  Is it very expandable?  I used the expandable kind it seemed like it was for all weather protection..

 

[65535]

The multifilament does expand but not all that much.
 
http://www.techflex.com/catalogpages/nylonmulti.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EsNO771ERGI
 
Good stuff.

 

[taylorsizemore]

This looks like an old thread but I thought i'd throw up a response, since I am searching to do the same thing...
I think my best solution is going to be to install an 3.5mm female jack on the headphones themselves, and then use a standard 3.5mm audio cable. Just a quick google turned up a nice selection of cloth 3.5mm cables, with nice connectors even! 

cloth 3.5mm cable: 3.5mm audio cable cloth
 
Just a thought... I just picked up a set of AKG k240's for $5 at an estate sale yesterday. They aren't in the best shape, so i might as well have some fun!