DIY Cable Questions and Comments Thread

[Canadian411]

Beautiful Techflex ...
 
http://techflex.com/prod_pet.asp
 
click "colors" tab.

 

[PETEREK]

IMO the ONLY thing techflex should be used for is interconnects in the world of audio cables. It's very rigid and creates microphonics. It's great for interconnects though.

 

[funch]

Ditto.

 

[hotfever]

how hot your solder iron is needed to be to solder wire to rhodium plated 3,5mm plug??
 
what if my iron go too hot and melt the 3,5mm plug's plastic channels separators??

 

[funch]

If you had to leave the iron on the tab long enough to melt the insulators, there must have been some contamination on the tabs.
If you touched the tabs at all, that could have done it.
 
Was the plug a Cardas 1/4" TRS? That one needs quite a bit of heat, but others I've done only need a few seconds at most on medium heat.

 

[Canadian411]

Make sure to use the heat-shrink after you solder.
 
like this
 

 

[65535]

  IMO the ONLY thing techflex should be used for is interconnects in the world of audio cables. It's very rigid and creates microphonics. It's great for interconnects though.

 
 
I think we should get out of the habit of calling sleeving microphonic. It transmits mechanical noise to the headphone cups but there is no electrical component of that.
 
I tend to agree on the use of techflex though, properly applied it adds weight and increases mechanical noise. The benefit would be aesthetic, durability, and color coding.
 
I haven't noticed a decrease in flexibility unless it's over tightened. Though I tend to use nylon multifilament rather than the PET expanding sleeve as the latter feels uncomfortable to the touch.

 

[TrollDragon]

Tis true, Tis true...

So sayeth the Wiki...

"The term is sometimes misused to describe sounds transmitted to the ear physically by mechanical vibrations or knocks on the wires of a headphone or in-ear monitor, when no disturbance of any electrical signal occurs."

 

[uncola]

I'm looking on ebay for some cheap nicer than standard rca connectors and most of the low cost ones are from china.. Do any of these look good or are they probably not really silver plated/copper alloy etc?  
 
Also anyone have an opinion on this Furez FZ162AA Analog Interconnect Cable?  it's OFHC 16 awg two conductor and shielded.. 92 cents a foot from douglas connection web site.  From what I've read, usually interconnects are made of thinner cable because low capacitance matters more than low resistance from a thick gauge wire.. is that generally right?  Is there any other cable I should think about trying other than mogami/canare or the rawcable.com lc-1?  http://douglasconnection.com/Furez-FZ162AA-Analog-Interconnect-Cable-Raw-FZ162.htm
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/331115525312?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 
 
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4pcs-copper-gold-plated-Locking-RCA-Plugs-Connector-/161305616227?pt=US_Audio_Cables_Adapters&hash=item258e905f63

 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4Pc-Cast-Copper-Gold-Plated-RCA-Connector-Plug-Audiophile-/131225237058?pt=US_Video_Cables_Adapters&hash=item1e8da23642

 

[funch]

The first ones are, um, copies (I'm being nice here) of Cardas plugs. The second are copies of Furutech. Not sure of the third.
 
They all look to be decent plugs for the money though.

 

[Kamakahah]

The main concern with the copies is if they are actually using the stated materials. You can't really know for sure unless you break them and test.
Still probably worth a shot.
Most of the specialty companies charge $$$ for the brand name, so you're really paying a steep mark-up for a much cheaper product. I have no doubt there are legit "copies", but there are also plenty of gussied up pieces of trash.

 

[65535]

Most of the boutique connectors in the first place are junk. Copies of them are likely much worse. The biggest issue wouldn't be falsifying materials and platings, the latter is cheap, however the former is make or break. Most of the time the alloy will be so cheap that it'll wear out or break after a short time.
 
I admit most RCAs on the professional market aren't particularly nice. That being said I won't support the boutique companies selling such overpriced lies no matter how good they look.

 

[Shawn71]

Subbed......

 

[Zashoomin]

Some "boutique" connectors are super easy to work with and look really good.  That and they are very high quality.  Of course that isn't always true but I have found a couple that hold true to that statement.  You do have to be very careful when dishing out money for connectors though as most of the time you are going to be paying for the looks more than anything.  Again though there are some nice ones.  If you don't want to dish out the money though I highly highly suggest neutrik connectors.  They are very very easy to work with, quality is top notch, but they aren't the prettiest things. 
 
just my $0.02

 

[DJScope]

The problem with your "boutique" connectors is that those companies charge a premium for the name. The reason why copies are so cheap compared to the real thing is because it doesn't really cost $20 to make one connector, especially when they're being pumped out in bulk. Even when you are applying gold, silver and even rhodium/platinum it still would cost a couple of dollars just to make 1 connector. Manufacturing in China is so much cheaper and I wouldn't be surprised if these "boutique" connector come from the same factories that these copies come from. 
 
On another note. I personally love the look of these ones!
 

 
 
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/3-5mm-Male-Jack-Audio-Headphone-Stereo-3-5MM-headphone-earphone-Adapter/703106331.html