[FraGGleR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stellablues /img/forum/go_quote.gif It might be the solder job at the plug end but definitely not on the cardas plugs end, those are clean and nice. When my neutrik plug comes I will rewire it more cleanly. I was not at all impressed by the viablue plug which has very poor strain relief and the ground pin broke clean off with no encouragement. Would you feel a cold solder joint could cause this partial loss of information? or is it a crosstalk issue where two solder joints are sharing some information? I am not talking dramatic difference, but I would has these cables are 80% percent as good as the originals but definitely not as good or better. These cables make my Senn much more bright and threadbare than my K701 which now seem warm and inviting by comparison....

A bad joint can absolutely impact the sound (I have experienced this). Also, if you are shorted somewhere, it can cause some sound loss as well (I guess the crosstalk you are referring to). A multimeter would certainly help you diagnose.

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drummerdimitri /img/forum/go_quote.gif No, I just used all the information I found on Wikipedia. Just type in USB and It will give you the pin numbering so that you can match the cables on both connectors. And no, I did not use any shielding as it doesn't seem to be necessary in my opinion.

Nice job! I will be making my own usb cable quite soon, but I am going to shield it to keep it as close to the 2.0 spec as I can.

 

[drummerdimitri]

Quote:

I am going to shield it to keep it as close to the 2.0 spec as I can.

How would you do so?

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drummerdimitri /img/forum/go_quote.gif How would you do so?

The USB 2.0 spec calls for both a foil shield and a braided shield. I have some mylar foil that I got as a sample from someone that I will use, and I was going to see if I could strip the braided shield from an existing cable. If that doesn't work well, braided shield can be purchased at various places on the internet. Perhaps this weekend I will make a short one as a test since I have stripped enough braided shield to make a 9" shorty.

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FraGGleR /img/forum/go_quote.gif The USB 2.0 spec calls for both a foil shield and a braided shield. I have some mylar foil that I got as a sample from someone that I will use, and I was going to see if I could strip the braided shield from an existing cable. If that doesn't work well, braided shield can be purchased at various places on the internet. Perhaps this weekend I will make a short one as a test since I have stripped enough braided shield to make a 9" shorty.

can't wait to see the result. Good luck!

 

[pdupiano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stellablues /img/forum/go_quote.gif This may not be the appropriate thread, but I built a DIY headphone cable for my Sennheiser HD600 (Photos to come) and I am not happy with the sound of the cable. I seem to have lost a lot of the body of the music, the midrange and midbass are not as full and have lost some detail and harmonics which give the music its structure. I am also hearing a bit more sibilant high frequencies with a loss of harmonics and room acoustic informatoin. Overall it seems like I am loosing a lot of harmonics and overtones throughout the frequency spectrum compared to the standard cable. Do you think that the 28awg 19 strand cable is too skinny for this purpose? Should I have used 24-26awg? Is it the silver coated copper? Ingredients: Cardas Senn plugs ViaBlue 1/4 phono jack 28awg 19 strand Silver coated Copper w/teflon cover purchased from ebay. soft techflex heatshrink Topology: Twisted pair for channel/ground and then twisted l/r together.

....alot of what you're experience is from using silver plated copper stick with either pure copper or pure silver. Try Pure copper and you'll get the sound you want. try higher grades of copper as well. Or if you are willing to spend spend some cash, go with pure silver or at least silver/copper hybrid (silver for signals, copper for ground).

 

[qusp]

shielding is VERY IMPORTANT for a USB cable and is an integral part of the spec. the impedance will also be wrong without it. sounds like you need to do a bit more research than the pinout. USB itself contains power wires that are sourced most often from dirty PC power supplies. sure the twisted data pair has some common mode rejection, but thousands of engineers (and my own personal experience as one of them) are unlikely to be wrong. but I guess you know better

also I highly recommend caution with DIY USB, its a cable that if made incorrectly can totally destroy the gear you use it with. check with the meter, check again and check again before using it on your rig. you also have to consider the voltage drop across the length of the cable, so wire gauge should be changed depending on the length.

@ stellablues, it sounds like yo have a cold joint or marginal short on ground. regardless of what you think with the cardas it could very well be the culprit as it is possible to look good but not be a solid connection. agreed on viablue; highly overrated IMO

that navships stuff isnt the greatest either and i'm with pdupiano here, stick with pure metals and if you want to mix them use different strands of silver and copper. at least thats the way I feel about it anyway. some seem to have good results with SPC, but I only ever use it with power wires and rarely then

 

[drummerdimitri]

Quote:

shielding is VERY IMPORTANT for a USB cable and is an integral part of the spec.

Why would ALO audio create such a USB cable in that case? ALO Audio
I don't see it being shielded but I might be wrong.

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drummerdimitri /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why would ALO audio create such a USB cable in that case? ALO Audio I don't see it being shielded but I might be wrong.

Because in this particular hobby, there are a LOT of people out there with more money than sense. If I pay $300 for a USB cable (which I never will, long live DIY!) it damn well better meet or exceed spec. Check out all the other high end USB cables out there. I believe every other one is not only shielded, but that is how they add value. Some of them are thicker than garden hoses!

We should take this to the DIY usb thread, though. This place is for pictures!

 

[drummerdimitri]

Quote:

We should take this to the DIY usb thread, though. This place is for pictures!

You're right, no more discussing DIY USB's here!

 

[momomo6789]

my first rca - rca cable !

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by momomo6789 /img/forum/go_quote.gif my first rca - rca cable !

Redco RRCA's ftw! Is that some stripped copper (mogami?) and alo sxc?

 

[eertelppa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by momomo6789 /img/forum/go_quote.gif my first rca - rca cable !

Omg, wow that is really awesome.

Please explain what all is in that, unless it is a secret locked away in a pirates chest. I assume like 24awg copper (without any teflon cover) on top 18awg silver?

I have not seen a cable like that, it is really neat.

Nice job.

 

[FraGGleR]

And since I was reminding people this was a gallery:

6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter:

4x6" of Nucleotide OCC copper in a round litz braid
Neutrik mini
Neutrik locking 6.3mm in line jack
Silver mylar techflex
Black PET techflex

This was my first time experimenting with more than one layer of sleeving. The effect is hard to catch with my camera, but it has a nice shimmer to it in the light. Makes it stiff, though. The Neutrik jack was a treat to work with after all the mini's I usually make.

 

[momomo6789]

24 awg alo stuff with 24 awg solid core . also redco rca's are ftw very easy to work with total time for both wires to build was under 5 mins. there is Teflon on the copper.


reflex + mylar is really nice looking effect. also or the really clear pet