[D2000]

Hi there,
 
I live in Australia and am trying fix a broken 3.5mm headjack on my Denon D2K's. It suffered from blow against a table and hasn't been the same since. I know the cable itself is perfectly fine it's just the 3.5 mm jack. 
 
I *was* going to recable them but I really am happy with my existing cable so I don't want to spend 150$ on a new cable as well as unnecessary labour. So here's the proposed plan...
 
I plan on halving the length of the cable to 1.5m  and rewiring a 3.5mm headjack to that length for more portable days when i'm on the go
 
And then using the rest of the existing cable (a little less than 1.5m) as an extension cable by attaching a female and male to that length for in house use where I need more cable.
 
What jacks do you recommend I use? Online stores would be fantastic as I can't foresee many local stores having the brands you suggest. I'm fairly proficient with soldering and really want to do this with a HIGH quality jack that will allow a not too difficult soldering job and can house the stock D2K thickness snugly. I'd say my budget for the headjacks (2 male and 1 female) is about $150ish, give or take a bit.
 
Do you have any advice on this to give and share? Please do so if you have done something similar to this.
 
I fear my location is something more than just a small hinderence in having someone professional do the job.
 
All help would be greatly appreciated,
 
David

 

[mchang]

I'm a bit confused about your request -- whether you ARE or ARE NOT looking to recable your Denons. But I'll write to both possibilities:
 
1) A recable of your Denons can be done for a whole lot less than $150, assuming you have most of the basic supplies (soldering iron/station, solder, etc). Here is my recount of recabling my Denon D5000s, and I essentially spent $80 on the wire and (overpriced, but so beautiful) Viablue components). The wire (granted, only 20 feet) cost $50 shipped (not sure about Australia). Quality plugs can be found for $3-8 depending on brand and type. I recabled my friends Grados (see below) for $12-15 in components.
 
2) If you're just looking for plugs, I would recommend Switchcraft. Here is my subsequent recable of a friend's Grado SR-80s, I used a Switchcraft 3.5mm. It was MUCH MUCH MUCH easier to solder and is built like a tank. I believe I ordered from http://www.markertek.com
 
The thing to note about plug selection is whether the barrel will fit over the cable (particularly when sleeved). If you look at my Grado recable, you'll see heatshrink covering the plug barrel. This is because I couldn't fit the Switchcraft barrel (which is actually one the larger diameter ones out there) over the insulated Mogami 2534 that I had sleeved in nylon multifilament. I didn't love the results as much as my Denons. If you're working with the stock Denon cable, this may be an issue to watch (from memory my D5000 cable was pretty thick and sleeved in nylon).
 
Hope this helps.

 

[tzjin]

Good info above.

Lunashop has a variety of attractive plugs that you can use for DIY. They're pretty cheap, but appear to be relatively well made.

 

[D2000]

Cheers Mchang that's a really helpful response to my query.

Your guides for recabling are also very handy and rest assured I will be visiting them during my recabling. I think you've convinced me to recable the D2K's instead of just reterminating them. And I found a Neutrick 3.5mm termination with an enlarged cable housing so hopefully that gives me a nice snug fit. I wonder if I can buy pre-braided cable ready to ship out - that would be a dream. I'll also grab some heat shrink and follow your idea about providing protection to the connections.
 
Thanks for your info too Tzjin. I'll report back here with my progress and what I end up doing.
 
Dave

 

[D2000]

What brand should i use of heat shrink for the terminations?

 

[mchang]

I don't know if there are discernible differences between brands of heatshrink, but I would recommend the adhesive kind (has a sticky interior that grips when heated). Not a huge deal if you can only find non-adhesive, though.
 
I've used unknown brands purchased from Fry's with no issues.

 

[D2000]

Thank's for all the help mchang. I've found some heatshrink locally. 
 
On another more temporary note: I've decided to recable my D2K's but in the meantime I want to just put a Neutrik 3.5mm until my new cable comes. 

Has anyone seen a diagram of the D2K cable diagram (colour-in-relation-to-left or right hand side)? I know I can find out which is which with a multimeter but I wont be able to get my hands on one for a few days. 

Got an idea? There's a yellow and black, and an orange and black. Obviously is ground for both but is there a standard configuration for the colours?

D

 

[mchang]

I think a multimeter may be your only choice if half of the wires are soldered to the drivers.
 
If the wires are unsoldered on both ends, I've been able to determine left/right by using a watch battery (actually the battery from my Honda keyless entry fob) and a LED. Put one end of the wires on the +/- LED posts and then methodically apply the other ends to the battery. Eventually you'll find the combo that powers the LED. Mark them left or right and ground.

 

[D2000]

Cheers mate you were right!

 

[julianbell92]

Bit late but orange is right and yellow is left for anyone that searches to find this in the future

 

[D2000]

Bit late but orange is right and yellow is left for anyone that searches to find this in the future

Absolutely right - I can confirm this.
Your denons are looking sexy by the way Julian.