[Ascension1SK]

When I saw the price of Null Audio's cables mainly the Lune and Crystalino cables, I thought to myself, how much would it cost if I made them myself?
 
So I've decided to take on this project! My vision is something like this(pictured below). I want to use 99.99% pure silver wire wrapped in teflon as opposed to copper enameled with silver.

 
 
Also, I haven't decided on whether I should go with quad braid or twists. Any thoughts on which is stronger in terms of durability and flexibility? Which AWG should I use 20, 22, 24? Does the 20 AWG have an advantage over the 22 and 24's in terms of strength and sound quality?(Bulkiness is not an issue for me)
 
(Pictured here is 24 AWG 99.99% quad braid)

 
 
Okay, this is the part I really need help with! I need to find the double pin that connects to the monitors. Secondly, I'll need help finding the best 3.5 mm plug. Preferably an angled one such as these. WIll the gold plated ones have better sound quality than the non-gold plated ones?

 
Lastly, I'll need some advice on how to do the Y split. I see the little white piece in the middle of the cable where the Y split starts and that's probably what keeps them from unraveling.(in the first picture)
 
Here's a video that show's you how to make a speaker wire but doesn't do the Y split and he's using 22 AWG.

 

[beeman458]

Here's the happening cable splitter: ViaBlue.  As to the gold plate, my understanding, gold doesn't corrode, so down the road, you have a better connection.
 
Good luck with your project.  Because I purchase my cables premade, I can't help you any further.

 

[Ascension1SK]

Quote:

Here's the happening cable splitter: ViaBlue.  As to the gold plate, my understanding, gold doesn't corrode, so down the road, you have a better connection.
 
Good luck with your project.  Because I purchase my cables premade, I can't help you any further.

Thanks for your help Beeman. I will certainly look into the splitter. Now I'm deciding on the sleeving. Thinking about Carbon Fiber sleeving but I'm not sure how flexible it would be. I will be calling the company and asking them if the application would be suitable for the IE cables. There's also Fiberglass and stainless steel. I want to build the ultimate cables.

 

[beeman458]

Remember, the word "ultimate" is sooooooo subjective.
 

 
I think the sleeving of my cables is Mylar.  From what I remember, carbon fiber has some flexibility issues.  You can also get sleeving in Kevlar and Teflon if you're so inclined.
 

 

[scootermafia]

If you know me you know I do a lot of DIY.  So, here goes.
 
For the miniplug on the end, pretty much anything will work, the majority are fine.  Silver and gold are both good.  Just pick what you like. 
 
Your cable isn't balanced, so perfect geometry isn't a huge issue.  Round-braids are cosmetically appealing.  I don't like flat quad braids so I don't do them anymore.  Or, you can make two twisted-pairs and wind them together into a star quad.  I wouldn't recommend using solid-core silver for something like this as it will be stiff and brittle, especially an IEM cable.  Stranded OCC copper is probably your best bet, ~24awg.  If you want stranded OCC silver you'll have to buy a ready-made cable from Whiplash Audio (as Cryoparts won't let anyone else use it and they're the sole place who has it) which brings me to the next point.
 
You aren't going to get a hold of those IEM connectors easily.  I'm pretty sure that Whiplash had to specially request them from the IEM manufacturer, or something like that.  You can't just buy them off the rack.  You can cut them off the old cable, drill into the contacts, and solder the wires there, if you know what you're doing.  I've used cut and filed pieces of copper wire as pins, but it's pretty ghetto, there's no substitute for the real thing.  This is probably going to be the sticking point for you DIYing one of these.  
 
I wouldn't sleeve this cable, except maybe with some cotton or nylon multifilament, especially if you don't want it to be too bulky.  That Piccolo cable isn't sleeved exactly, it's actually a super-tiny coaxial cable.  I won't go into detail on what I think about using coax for non-digital cables.  It basically has a clear coating over a metal braid, which goes over a layer of thermal tape, then the silver-gold wires are inside.  If you go to wirecare.com there are a lot of materials to sleeve a cable with.  Carbon fiber sleeving is something I do work with, but you have to layer it with something, either put it under PVC shrink (Techflex Shrinkflex, which makes for a very stiff decorative cable, not a good headphone cable option) or put it under 1/8" clear teflon braided sleeving from Techflex (a personal favorite).  It is said to be a pretty good shielding/antistatic material although I don't have the equipment to test this.  Don't get carbon fiber fabric sleeving/braided tubular sleeving confused with Techflex's carbon infused nylon sleeving, which is a conductive nylon sleeving that's got carbon built into the nylon strands - it looks like regular techflex but costs vastly more as it's a good shielding material.  It isn't especially attractive.  Carbon fiber sleeving that's sold by Techflex is awful, it flakes and fluffs and looks like crap very very quickly.  The carbon fiber sleeve I use is from Soller Composites and it is very resistant to physical contact, it won't misbehave and develop tufts/flaws in its pattern when it's handled - it looks identical to the Techflex product though.  
 
You probably don't want a Y-split as big as the Viablue for a compact cable like this.  It'd look cartoonish on a naked cable like this, you don't need anything to cover the y-split and probably it would look best that way.  The cable can't unravel without a y-split, that's not how a braid works.  When you stop braiding, you simply take two of the wires and twist them into a pair, ditto with the other 2, and those are your earcup wires that go to the headphones.  They end in a connector so they can't unravel.  
 
PM me if you get stuck.

 

[Ascension1SK]

Firstly, has anyone told you you're the man lately? Well, you are! You taught me a very valuable lesson in which I will save a pretty penny down the line. Thank you kind sir!
Very informative and well explained. Unlike some, who will just make a statement without furthering explaining why.
 
Wiring
The reason why I chose pure silver(99.99%) is for aesthetics. My main concern is strength. I would like something that can handle daily use and still hold up.(I think the sleeving plays an important role in this but we'll get to that in a bit) Will OCC copper have similar sound quality to OCC silver?
 
http://www.vhaudio.com/wire.html( Only shows 18 awg OCC copper with teflon or AirLok )
 
 
Sleeving
I have a passion for anything carbon fiber which is why I thought of using it as a sleeve. I understand carbon fiber would be a little restricted in terms of flexiblity. What if it's mixed with kevlar such as this 3K Hybrid? Any advantages from teflon over kevlar and vise versa?
 
Y-Splitter and Pins
You're right about the ViaBlue Y-Splitter being oversized. I think I will just use a fabric heat shrink to cover the split. I think it will be a nice touch to the finish as opposed to a plain and exposed split, just my opinion.
 
As for the pins, I have found a website in Hong Kong that sells UE pins although I haven't contacted him yet.(Some people on here have bought from this seller before) 
 

 
Oh, and I would like to cover the black housing in a fabric heat shrink for aesthetics purposes.

 

[betweentheears]

Nice find on the pins.

 

[AVU]

if you want the silver look but the gold qualities, look into Rhodium connectors.

 

[Ascension1SK]

Does anyone know a good place to find a good rhodium connector for cheap?

 

[yura]

I found another cable that might work. It's an almost ready cable for EU, exept it has RCAs on the ends.So the RCAs can be cut off and pins soldered on the ends.I am a jeweler by trade so i can use like 14kt. gold pins for contacts. Here is the link  http://www.halfpricecaraudio.com/Stinger-SPI336-6-Foot-Right-Angle-3.5mm-to-RCA-Interconnect-Adapter-6-Feet.htm   When I'm done with mine I will let you know how it worked out

 

[scootermafia]

Don't think that a random RCA cable is going to be much better than the stock cable.  Also most pins have a little groove on them that lets them be retained by the socket on the earbud.  Definitely not easy to get a hold of something like that.
 
I would use stranded wire for an IEM cable, not solidcore, unless you want a pipe cleaner like cable.