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DIY Cable Questions and Comments Thread

Jan 18, 2015 at 3:29 PM Post #3,227 of 10,589
arty mcghee said:
  23awg wire in a ptfe sleeve is probably less flexible than stock
somewhere between stiff and not very flexible at all lol
 
my fave akg cable i use is 28 awg 3 conductor (any more is just for looks)
braided and sleeved in 550 paracord super flexible
 
a,good choice is mogami 2799 innards its a bit more flexible
i think you mean shielding when you say ground
the shaft wire is the ground and is necessary most of us remove the sheilding
and just use the inner conductors
 
 
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Thanks Arty McGhee. The stock cable is quite flexible and I would like to make something almost as flexible. My first DIY cable was made from a Viablue EPC-4 cable with just a syntethic sleeve. The shielding of the cable went to the ground of course. But this cable is very stiff and not very comfortable.
 
Is it possible, if I use 23AWG cable or smaller if I find, to use it bare inside a cotton sleeve? Or do I need the plastic tube? I couldn't find a cotton sleeve as small as 22AWG or similar....
 
 
thurstonx said:
   
I've made a couple cables for my Q701s.  Not sure about the wire gauge, but I used Mogami W2799 stripped to the four conductors, sleeved with 95-lbs (type 1, I guess) paracord from Paracord Planet, then braided in the round style.  The one I use now is made from type 2 Litz 100/46 (i.e., 100 strands, 46 AWG(?)), and the same paracord and braiding.
 
I use two conductors twisted together for the grounding.  Didn't have a problem getting it all into the Redco mini-XLR.  I use Neutrik NP3X plugs at the TRS end.
 
The most important thing to know about the AKGs are the reversed signal pins on the mini-XLRs.  You can verify this by testing the stock cable with a DMM.  I've posted in here about the pin outs on the mini-XLR, so I'll let you find it, and not misquote myself.  Just test continuity between the three female ends of the mini-XLR and the TRS.
 
Apologies if you already knew that, but it seems worth mentioning.
 
Good luck 
smily_headphones1.gif
Click to expand...

Thanks ThurstonX. So two conductors are of course for L + R channel, and the two left over conductors you use for ground? I guess the first conductor is just for the looks, as 2x 25AWG f.ex. is quite a lot for just ground? :)
 
Jan 18, 2015 at 4:12 PM Post #3,228 of 10,589
brdlnde said:
   
Thanks Arty McGhee. The stock cable is quite flexible and I would like to make something almost as flexible. My first DIY cable was made from a Viablue EPC-4 cable with just a syntethic sleeve. The shielding of the cable went to the ground of course. But this cable is very stiff and not very comfortable.
 
Is it possible, if I use 23AWG cable or smaller if I find, to use it bare inside a cotton sleeve? Or do I need the plastic tube? I couldn't find a cotton sleeve as small as 22AWG or similar....
 
 
Thanks ThurstonX. So two conductors are of course for L + R channel, and the two left over conductors you use for ground? I guess the first conductor is just for the looks, as 2x 25AWG f.ex. is quite a lot for just ground? :)
Click to expand...

 
This: http://www.mogamicable.com/category/bulk/console/
 
indicates that each conductor is 26 AWG.  Yep, two for ground.  I doubt that has a negative effect, but wiser people can speak to that.  I wanted a round braid, not a flat 3-wire braid, and it seemed silly not to twist together the strands of both wires for the grounds.  I did make a cable using all four wires (stripped the sheath and shielding) threaded into 550 paracord, but it was a little "microphonic" when rubbed, probably because I pulled the paracord too tight.  I undid that cable and made the braided cable instead.
 
Getting rid of the outer sheath and the copper wire shielding made for a very light and supple cable.
 
I did a 3-wire braid for my Fidelio X2s, and while it doesn't look bad, I prefer the 4-wire braid.  With four wires you can have two-color combos.  Since my Q701s are white, I did a black and white braid.
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 1:24 AM Post #3,230 of 10,589
This might a huge long shot but it's sort of my last resort.
 
I have a pair of Sennheiser G4ME One headphones. My cat managed to chew the cord enough to make them not work.
 
Now I tried searching for replacement cables but found nothing, after posting on reddit/r/headphones someone pointed me towards this thread. I'm not really looking to dive this deep into the HiFi thing and really only want my headphones to work again. I only really use them to game.
 
Is there anyone in here who would fabricate a replacement cable for me, and how much would you charge for something like that.
 
Also, if someone could maybe point me towards a shop in Orlando that might do this type of work it would be greatly appreciated. I would not need any fancy cable or something non-standard, just if someone does do this work I'd like to get in touch with that person.
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 1:33 AM Post #3,231 of 10,589
Making a 25ft cable for HD650
Few questions : 
 
Shielding:  
1. Does it make a difference? 
2. If you're using shield wire, I read you have to solder it to a connector; Which and how? 
   
Wire: 
I ordered some Canare quad cable. I assumed paracord would be large enough to fit it from what I read. What I didn't understand was that what people meant was I would need to strip off the outer casing and shield, and only do Two conductors per length of paracord. I didn't want a braided cord but looks like that's what I'm stuck with If I want to wrap it this way. 
 
1. I may not use the quad cable at all, instead I would get individual lengths of 20awg-22awg; I don't want to order more wire
a. Can I just get some generic speaker wire from the local shops or is it not a good choice?
b. What's a common type of wire I might be able to find in a common store that would work well?
 
Connections: 
I randomly picked up a vintage Quadraphonic, with dual "rear and front" headphone jacks. I might be wrong, but I bet I could use it as a balanced headphone amp? 
If that's the case I don't want to make two cables at this time. 
1. Instead of making a 4 wire cable with a TRS connection (like I was planing to) I could use a 4pin XLR, and then make a 4pin XLR to dual TRS adapter; would this degrade the signal much?  
2. Is there much to gain by running balanced ? 
 
 
Paracord: 
Instead of doing a braid, has any one tried fusing two lengths together, like melting the nylon together?
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 1:34 AM Post #3,232 of 10,589
@shine4t First off, howdy, and welcome to Head-Fi! The motto 'round here is, "Sorry about your wallet!"
 
It's a non-detachable cable, so your option are to repair the one you have yourself if you feel comfortable, or see if one of us is nearby and is willing to do the repair... as it probably will require taking them apart depending on the damage done. Some sites will do detachable cable mods, that's kinda what you'd be in for at this point if you don't want just a straight re-solder and heatshrink job.
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 1:39 AM Post #3,233 of 10,589
edwii said:
  Making a 25ft cable for HD650
Click to expand...

At that length, shielding might be worth your time, hard to say. If the cable is running past other electronics and such, then yes. You solder one end of the shielding to just the TRS/XLR ground that goes into the amp, not to the headphones as well as you could cause a ground loop.
 
I'd keep the Canare as is with the shielding already done and wrap it in Techflex if it's not too laate...
 
20-22awg is probably fine from anywhere as long as it feels flexible enough, also consider doing higher strand counts of the Canare if you have enough (8 strand or so).
 
Nope, haven't tried fusing...
 
Now somebody come in and correct me on my advice XD.
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 1:52 AM Post #3,234 of 10,589
jodgey4 said:
  At that length, shielding might be worth your time, hard to say. If the cable is running past other electronics and such, then yes. You solder one end of the shielding to just the TRS/XLR ground that goes into the amp, not to the headphones as well as you could cause a ground loop.
 
I'd keep the Canare as is with the shielding already done and wrap it in Techflex if it's not too laate...
 
20-22awg is probably fine from anywhere as long as it feels flexible enough, also consider doing higher strand counts of the Canare if you have enough (8 strand or so).
 
Nope, haven't tried fusing...
 
Now somebody come in and correct me on my advice XD.
Click to expand...


1. the wire would be running along the wall along with a USB cable, Internet COAX cable, and a XLR microphone cable.  
2. I think I've used Techflex stuff before, I use it a lot in automotive and other things. I find it quite stiff and abrasive compaired to nice soft paracord. Is there a more "cloth like" option I could use? 
perfereably something that comes in different colors? 
3. I edited a part in my post about balanced connections vs unbalanced, got any input?
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 1:53 AM Post #3,235 of 10,589
Balanced has common mode noise rejection and more power, so those are great things for long cable runs.
 
The other stuff I think you should ask someone else, but considering where it's running, I'd really suggest shielding.
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 3:27 AM Post #3,236 of 10,589
sfo1972 said:
   
Welcome to the forum...I will try to answer your questions one by one, based on my experience thus far in cable building:
 
1) There are several cable suppliers on eBay that ship worldwide from Japan, China, USA, etc. They are fast, efficient and you can get the supplies fairly quickly. You also should check Amazon uk for a lot of the connectors, heat shrink suppliers, etc.
 
2) Same as number 1 above. Also, you want to stay in the range of 24AWG to 26AWG. I think 28AWG is small for your HDs, so 24 or 26 AWG should work well for you. As for the cable type, you need to skim this thread and see the different types to determine what you like. For example, do you want clear cabling (see through) or do you want to sleeve it in Parachord?
 
3) The Y-Split can be made either: 1) Heat-Shrink 2) Buy a connector such as Via-blue or DHC (Double Helix Cable)/others 3) Leave it as is without covering, or 4) get creative and make your own
 
4) The best way to learn braiding is to check youtube - Search for "3 and 4 strand braiding" videos and learn from them
 
My advice, spend a few hours on the thread. You will learn a ton and avoid costly mistakes down the road. Search the web looking for supplies, sketch out what you think you want to do, come here with questions.
 
A lot of great people here that wanna help.
 
Cheers
 
---EDIT:
I thought of one thing that might help you learn braiding:Buy cheap 20AWG-24AWG wire from your local hardware store that is 16 feet or more. Cut 4 strands at 4 feet each, practice with this cheap cabling until you crack the braiding to your liking. When you go to the actual cable, there will be less errors and better confidence to get it right on the first go.
Click to expand...

 
 
Wow...thank you for the info. I think that's quite enough to get me started. I invest couple of hours on looking through this and the gallery so I can draw a picture in my head for what I want.
 
Once again, thank you for the valuable input!
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 7:56 AM Post #3,237 of 10,589
shine4t said:
  This might a huge long shot but it's sort of my last resort.
 
I have a pair of Sennheiser G4ME One headphones. My cat managed to chew the cord enough to make them not work.
 
Now I tried searching for replacement cables but found nothing, after posting on reddit/r/headphones someone pointed me towards this thread. I'm not really looking to dive this deep into the HiFi thing and really only want my headphones to work again. I only really use them to game.
 
Is there anyone in here who would fabricate a replacement cable for me, and how much would you charge for something like that.
 
Also, if someone could maybe point me towards a shop in Orlando that might do this type of work it would be greatly appreciated. I would not need any fancy cable or something non-standard, just if someone does do this work I'd like to get in touch with that person.
Click to expand...

The best option for you is to just repair the cable you already have, since it is not detachable. It's a rather simple process if you or your friends have any soldering experience. If you decide to try it, feel free to ask more detailed questions here.
 
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