[ThurstonX]

The coupled male RCA cable test was successful.  Now I've got a request re: constructing the Female-to-Male extension cable.  I've got some four-conductor Mogami (W2893, IIRC) that's still sheathed and shielded (left over from a Redco custom cable I've already started cannibalizing), and I've got plenty of fixed installation W2799 that would be easier to work with.  I'd like to use the bulkier, shielded cable, but I'm wondering about the best way to expose and solder the two pairs I need for the RCA connectors.
 
Should I just strip away as much as I need, put some heat shrink around it (?), then solder?  It won't look pretty, but I'm sure I can make it functional.  Or should I use the W2799 and feed it through some paracord?  I guess the basic question is, what's the best way to make a two-channel cable that's one thick cable in the middle up until the split ends?
 
If you've done it and have photos, that'd be great.

TIA.

 

[musicinmymind]

   
OK folks - I placed an order for 20AWG OCC silver plated x 19 strands just now. The wire hunt is over, for now, and I can switch my focus to connectors and Y-Split, braiding until the cables arrive. I believe I have the needed wiring diagrams as well. The hunt for connectors starts: mini-xlrs 4 pins, 1/4" TRS, and 4-pin XLR.
 
Many thanks for your help.

 
can you pls give the link.

 

[sfo1972]

   
can you pls give the link.

Sure:
http://r.ebay.com/qHaK2q
 
I chose the gauge 20 instead of 24 for 2 reasons: the 19 strands and Audeze stock cable uses gauge 20. It will likely be thicker to handle, but it made sense to me.
 
I am trying to find cool connectors, if you can recommend vendors for mini-xlrs, TRS, and Y-Splits I would appreciate it. I am looking at DHC and a couple of the others, interestingly they don't sell all the connectors for DIY that they use on their cables. I guess its a way to market their product.
 
Let me know what you think of the cable and good luck.

 

[Kamakahah]

Sure:
[COLOR=222222]http://r.ebay.com/qHaK2q[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]I chose the gauge 20 instead of 24 for 2 reasons: the 19 strands and Audeze stock cable uses gauge 20. It will likely be thicker to handle, but it made sense to me.[/COLOR]

I am trying to find cool connectors, if you can recommend vendors for mini-xlrs, TRS, and Y-Splits I would appreciate it. I am looking at DHC and a couple of the others, interestingly they don't sell all the connectors for DIY that they use on their cables. I guess its a way to market their product.

[COLOR=222222]Let me know what you think of the cable and good luck.[/COLOR]

Hopefully you realized that the wire is silver-plated BRASS and not copper. Why does that matter? Conductivity. http://www.tibtech.com/conductivity.php

Maybe they are banking on the electron flow on the surface which is silver. Unfortunately, that doesn't apply the same way in this circumstance. It should flow through the bulk cross section of the wire which means you'll be conducting with brass. It has significantly lower conductivity/increased resistance.
That said, you might like it. It's the reason that wire is so cheap.

There is actually a separate thread that is about where to buy Y-splits. It's pretty slim pickings. I'd recommend something custom made in acrylic or wood from someone like Clint at YewAudio.

All mini xlr connectors are rip off of one another. They are all pretty much the same. Rean are slightly different.
The one exception I know of are Furutech ones, (FT-610mF). Even it's not that different, but it's my favorite style wise. As all Furutech products, it's expensive.

Good luck with the build.

 

[sfo1972]

Hopefully you realized that the wire is silver-plated BRASS and not copper. Why does that matter? Conductivity. http://www.tibtech.com/conductivity.php

Maybe they are banking on the electron flow on the surface which is silver. Unfortunately, that doesn't apply the same way in this circumstance. It should flow through the bulk cross section of the wire which means you'll be conducting with brass. It has significantly lower conductivity/increased resistance.
That said, you might like it. It's the reason that wire is so cheap.

There is actually a separate thread that is about where to buy Y-splits. It's pretty slim pickings. I'd recommend something custom made in acrylic or wood from someone like Clint at YewAudio.

All mini xlr connectors are rip off of one another. They are all pretty much the same. Rean are slightly different.
The one exception I know of are Furutech ones, (FT-610mF). Even it's not that different, but it's my favorite style wise. As all Furutech products, it's expensive.

Good luck with the build.

Actually that's a very good point!

 Thanks for highlighting that prior to the start of the build.
 
Is there a particular tried and tested cable you would recommend from eBay? Hunting through thousands of listings is pretty tiring. I don't necessarily believe the silver coating will add much to the conductivity, it makes the cable look pretty more than anything else, at least for the short run that I will be building.
 
And many thanks on the recommendations for connectors. I have come to the same conclusion over the past couple of days, its slim pickings.

 

[PETEREK]

 
Actually that's a very good point!

 Thanks for highlighting that prior to the start of the build.
 
Is there a particular tried and tested cable you would recommend from eBay? Hunting through thousands of listings is pretty tiring. I don't necessarily believe the silver coating will add much to the conductivity, it makes the cable look pretty more than anything else, at least for the short run that I will be building.
 
And many thanks on the recommendations for connectors. I have come to the same conclusion over the past couple of days, its slim pickings.

Why only from eBay?
 
Here's some 22awg (2 strands in one cable) Mogami. You would have to strip the wires out, but that isn't too hard.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bulk-Mogami-w2549-Pro-Audio-Mic-Cable-Wire-microphone-cord-BY-THE-FOOT-2549-0001-/221292079311?pt=US_Cables_Snakes_Interconnects&hash=item33860928cf

 

[sfo1972]

  Why only from eBay?
 
Here's some 22awg (2 strands in one cable) Mogami. You would have to strip the wires out, but that isn't too hard.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bulk-Mogami-w2549-Pro-Audio-Mic-Cable-Wire-microphone-cord-BY-THE-FOOT-2549-0001-/221292079311?pt=US_Cables_Snakes_Interconnects&hash=item33860928cf

eBay is not essential - but easily accessible.
 
I wanted to build a cable with the clear cable and silvery look to it. The issue was me looking for 19 strands/wire cable, as a result of an earlier recommendation. I missed the brass part when I was hunting through the listings and chose that cable earlier. Here is a link for OCC Copper - Silver Plated, but is only 7 strands: http://r.ebay.com/kLmN0n
 
Do you have a recommendation for a clear cable, similar to the ones listed, but 19 strands? Or is 19+ strands/wire not that important?

 

[ThurstonX]

Same Mogami W2549 at $0.80/ft
 
http://www.redco.com/Mogami-W2549.html

 

[Kamakahah]

eBay is not essential - but easily accessible.

I wanted to build a cable with the clear cable and silvery look to it. The issue was me looking for 19 strands/wire cable, as a result of an earlier recommendation. I missed the brass part when I was hunting through the listings and chose that cable earlier. Here is a link for OCC Copper - Silver Plated, but is only 7 strands: [COLOR=222222]http://r.ebay.com/kLmN0n[/COLOR]

Do you have a recommendation for a clear cable, similar to the ones listed, but 19 strands? Or is 19+ strands/wire not that important?

Lots of people end up ordering some 7 strand Acrolink at some point. It'll work just fine.
My recommendations are simply my preferences based on my own experience with various wire. Since I'm often building cables for others, I prefer to choose materials that are less likely to have issues in the future. That doesn't mean they will have issues.

You'll end up building other cables after this one. Your curiosity will eventually get the best of you. Give one of the more available 7 strand wires a try and save yourself the effort of finding the perfect wire.

 

[implodingtreble]

hello all,

quick background, bare with me folks.
 
I'm looking at stepping up in the audiophile game and would like to upgrade my Monoprice 8323s before I buy some mid-end cans and attempt some mods on them (was suggested to get a pair of  Beyer DT 770s) or even some amps, (DACs?). I really would like to practice soldering by doing some DIY cables. Right now I'd like to tackle a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable. simple balanced 3 cable braided. I've been trying to comb through this thread and gather all the right information to do this project. which 208 pages is a bit daunting for a novice like me. As I described to my buddy "DIY Cables are a whole different family in the order of Audiophiles with it's own Genus spanning multiple species."

If I'm correct I would need

1. Soldering Iron (Duh, looking at the Hakko 936ESD)
2. Helping Hands
3. some Magami mic cord (would like a 24awg)
4. Some 3.5mm jacks TRS (open to some suggestions)
5. paracord if I decide to sleeve. (but if I'm braiding why sleeve, am I right fella's/gals?)

oh and to follow this diagram. http://cdn.head-fi.org/3/32/326642cd_stereo.png
 

 

[sfo1972]

Lots of people end up ordering some 7 strand Acrolink at some point. It'll work just fine.
My recommendations are simply my preferences based on my own experience with various wire. Since I'm often building cables for others, I prefer to choose materials that are less likely to have issues in the future. That doesn't mean they will have issues.

You'll end up building other cables after this one. Your curiosity will eventually get the best of you. Give one of the more available 7 strand wires a try and save yourself the effort of finding the perfect wire.

Thanks for the help. I ordered the OCC Copper Silver-plated 24AWG cable just now and will use the other one to practice cable building. Many thanks for all your help and I will update everyone with my trials and tribulations along the way. I will also post some pics in the gallery of the finished product.
 
Cheers

 

[Arty McGhee]

love all this cable talk
i started about a year ago building cables
i've always been an avid diy'er (i prefer the current term maker)
part of this is passing on the skill to others
there seems to be a lot of beginners out there
i learned by buying a lot of cheap parts and wire and practicing
before long you will get what you like and what works best for you
hard to beat the mogami for cable, cheap and good (this is what professionals use in sound reinforcement and studios)
also seller "navships" on ebay sells some real high quality silver plated copper (mil surplus uncle sam buys the best)
his stuff can be on the stiff side go for the smaller (larger #) awg
just did my grado woodies in his 26 awg 19 stranded teflon sleeved in 95 paracord and braided almost flexible as mogami
i use mostly rean and amphenol connectors but i just ordered a bunch of weird mini xlrs off ebay
paracord planet has craptons of colors sizes etc. buy a whole mess and have at it
 
mostly buy a mess of cheap stuff and go nuts
pretty soon you'll have something that looks pretty good
then buy the fancy stuff when you are ready
but most of all have fun with it
if you wanna make a pink cable make a pink cable
then post pictures 'cause we all wanna see
 
sorry for writing a book

 

[implodingtreble]

  love all this cable talk
i started about a year ago building cables
i've always been an avid diy'er (i prefer the current term maker)
part of this is passing on the skill to others
there seems to be a lot of beginners out there
i learned by buying a lot of cheap parts and wire and practicing
before long you will get what you like and what works best for you
hard to beat the mogami for cable, cheap and good (this is what professionals use in sound reinforcement and studios)
also seller "navships" on ebay sells some real high quality silver plated copper (mil surplus uncle sam buys the best)
his stuff can be on the stiff side go for the smaller (larger #) awg
just did my grado woodies in his 26 awg 19 stranded teflon sleeved in 95 paracord and braided almost flexible as mogami
i use mostly rean and amphenol connectors but i just ordered a bunch of weird mini xlrs off ebay
paracord planet has craptons of colors sizes etc. buy a whole mess and have at it
 
mostly buy a mess of cheap stuff and go nuts
pretty soon you'll have something that looks pretty good
then buy the fancy stuff when you are ready
but most of all have fun with it
if you wanna make a pink cable make a pink cable
then post pictures 'cause we all wanna see
 
sorry for writing a book

No worries on the book, this helps out a lot. I take it the 95 paracord is the smaller paracord that will sleeve one cable? So for my simple balanced 3.5mm to 3.5mm, I would have 3 cords sleeved in paracord, on soldered to the tip, one to the ring and one to the sleeve? Or do I Solder 2 cables per? I got confused when I started to see discussions on 8 braided cables. 

8 braided cable would be 3 on the T, 2 on R and 3 on the S? I hope this question makes sense, I'm a bit of a visual learner so reading an explanation takes me a minute. 

Once again no worries on the book, the more you write, the better the explanation. Appreciate it. 

 

[BillsonChang007]

 
eBay is not essential - but easily accessible.
 
I wanted to build a cable with the clear cable and silvery look to it. The issue was me looking for 19 strands/wire cable, as a result of an earlier recommendation. I missed the brass part when I was hunting through the listings and chose that cable earlier. Here is a link for OCC Copper - Silver Plated, but is only 7 strands: http://r.ebay.com/kLmN0n
 
Do you have a recommendation for a clear cable, similar to the ones listed, but 19 strands? Or is 19+ strands/wire not that important?

Hey there! I purchased the same exact cable as the link you gave! Generally, more strands means more flexible [?] 
 
I used the cable to build a cable for my AKG K702/65. While it is a little stiff, but I find it fine for desktop use but definitely not for portable 

 

[sfo1972]

  love all this cable talk
i started about a year ago building cables
i've always been an avid diy'er (i prefer the current term maker)
part of this is passing on the skill to others
there seems to be a lot of beginners out there
i learned by buying a lot of cheap parts and wire and practicing
before long you will get what you like and what works best for you
hard to beat the mogami for cable, cheap and good (this is what professionals use in sound reinforcement and studios)
also seller "navships" on ebay sells some real high quality silver plated copper (mil surplus uncle sam buys the best)
his stuff can be on the stiff side go for the smaller (larger #) awg
just did my grado woodies in his 26 awg 19 stranded teflon sleeved in 95 paracord and braided almost flexible as mogami
i use mostly rean and amphenol connectors but i just ordered a bunch of weird mini xlrs off ebay
paracord planet has craptons of colors sizes etc. buy a whole mess and have at it
 
mostly buy a mess of cheap stuff and go nuts
pretty soon you'll have something that looks pretty good
then buy the fancy stuff when you are ready
but most of all have fun with it
if you wanna make a pink cable make a pink cable
then post pictures 'cause we all wanna see
 
sorry for writing a book

On the contrary, thank you for sharing all this great knowledge. This is what I was looking for, experience.
 
I have been designing and building systems and stuff for over 25 years; Never handled headphones until now. This is all new stuff to me. Handling the build of the headphone cable, soldering, sleeving, etc is a no brainer as I crank a lot of embedded systems projects out of my workshop. The challenge is getting the 'right' raw material and correct wiring diagrams.
 
The suggestion from Kamakahah above regarding custom wooden Y-splitter got me thinking of building my own. I have all the tools in the workshop to mill stuff to whatever I need so this is turning into an integration project of multiple disciplines into custom headphones cable. Kinda of exciting actually to build something truly unique and individual. I am thinking about making a custom Y-Splt from one of the Apollo11 pins atop a custom built wooden enclosure. Let's see where this goes.
 
Cheers