DIY Cable Questions and Comments Thread

[Allanmarcus]

 

 
yes, such a cable would be very easy. You would just get a male and female 3.5.mm plug and jack, then just run two wires between them, and jumper the L and R channels. 
 
Are you sure your player doesn't have an option for mono? For example, on an iOS device you can  use the accessibility settings to change the sound to mono.

Would this not short a balanced connection? I think single-ended would be fine as they already have a common ground, which the OP appears to have from the TRS tip in the picture.

I assumed SE.

 

[Paladin79]

  ^^^
Hey, thanks Tom. I'm going to take your advice and try a simple cable first like the one pictured.  Ill post a few pics in the process and when when I'm done.

good luck Steg. If you can find something like Belden 1508a it is a pretty reasonable two conductor and drain wire cable. Lightweight and I can walk you through how to make the junction. I have an affinity for some American made cable and like to support folks in northern Indiana when I can. A friend used to be a supervisor at Belden, he now works for an insurance agency whose owner was the basis for the movie Hoosiers. I have a feeling you know that story lol.

 

[buke9]

Would this not short a balanced connection? I think single-ended would be fine as they already have a common ground, which the OP appears to have from the TRS tip in the picture.

Never connect the grounds on a balanced connection bad things will follow.

 

[Happytalk]

What DAP? Does your DAP have a mono option?

It's a DX90. Love it. Not that I know of. I'm still a little unclear about how to make a stereo to mono cable.

 

[buke9]

It's a DX90. Love it. Not that I know of. I'm still a little unclear about how to make a stereo to mono cable.

Don't make a mono cable. If it is mono it play that way.

 

[castleofargh]

wouldn't it make more sense to convert files instead of trying to mix paths with a cable?

 

[buke9]

Ok I'm done just going to listen to music

 

[caecillius]

On the 6.35, you are always pretty safe with Neutrik or Amphenol, they are what I use most. Markertek will sell you those and 2.5 mini males will be on that site as well. I have not done much for Hifiman so I am not sure if those need to be extended tip 2.5 mm or not. Plenty of people here can answer that for you.(...)

Tom

HifiMan headphones do not require the extended 2.5mm connectors. My Switchcraft connectors work beautifully in that regard. I think it's the Sennheiser HD -700s that require the extended connector.

 

[Stegosaurus]

  good luck Steg. If you can find something like Belden 1508a it is a pretty reasonable two conductor and drain wire cable. Lightweight and I can walk you through how to make the junction. I have an affinity for some American made cable and like to support folks in northern Indiana when I can. A friend used to be a supervisor at Belden, he now works for an insurance agency whose owner was the basis for the movie Hoosiers. I have a feeling you know that story lol.

I purchased Canare cable for my headphones. I did get Belden for my speaker wire though. Didn't realize the company was in Indiana. I really try hard to buy American. (Drive a Chevy truck) Its becoming harder each day. 
Hoosiers is an awesome movie! Viewing it is a right of passage for an Indiana boy. Going to watch it soon again.
 
Chris

 

[Stegosaurus]

HifiMan headphones do not require the extended 2.5mm connectors. My Switchcraft connectors work beautifully in that regard. I think it's the Sennheiser HD -700s that require the extended connector.

Ok. Thanks. I took a chance and got the regular size. Not sure what brand though. Where did you purchase the Switchcraft 2.5's? Looking at the Headphones the 2.5  sub minis look like they need to be thin in order to plug in correctly.

 

[Paladin79]

  Ok. Thanks. I took a chance and got the regular size. Not sure what brand though. Where did you purchase the Switchcraft 2.5's? Looking at the Headphones the 2.5  sub minis look like they need to be thin in order to plug in correctly.

Mouser Electronics has them.
 
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Switchcraft/880X/?qs=iwvYsH9bSFbKw1hXLRZXaA%3D%3D&gclid=Cj0KEQjwicfHBRCh6KaMp4-asKgBEiQA8GH2x1UzzkFBxvW6mFMAu9KpNtPPn-XY-QdsDk3IVSxsx1caAt2_8P8HAQ
 
The 880 model, and they are quality connectors. I am using some Switchcraft in a couple Bottlehead Crack builds because they use nickel covered brass.

 

[Paladin79]

  I purchased Canare cable for my headphones. I did get Belden for my speaker wire though. Didn't realize the company was in Indiana. I really try hard to buy American. (Drive a Chevy truck) Its becoming harder each day. 
Hoosiers is an awesome movie! Viewing it is a right of passage for an Indiana boy. Going to watch it soon again.
 
Chris

The engineering staff at the local university use little else besides Belden, I have worked with those gentlemen on many occasions. They (Belden) have some ofc wire in some of their three wire cables as I recall but i do not have the part numbers in front of me. Canare is good, I use their connectors mostly but those are now made in China, sigh. 
 
The story on which Hoosiers is based has to do with tiny Milan high school and a famous last minute shot to win the championship. There are 12 high schools in the US that seat more than 10,000, Indiana has ten of them lol. Anyway I digress, good luck with the cables, I have to finish installing some french doors and then I want to see if I can build a Bottlehead Crack in 6 hours so I have my day planned, oh and I am cooking outdoors late tonight as well.

 

[Happytalk]

Delete

 

[XenHeadFi]

[Edit] It's a 3.5mm male o 3.5mm male then to stereo female to mono male then to stereo (both sides) coupler then to mono mail to stereo female with is where the headphones plug into. A couple of problems. It always seems like the 3.5mm jack has to be moved into just the right place to work and overall, I think there may be a grounding issue. Once in a while there is distortion.[Edit]

The fiddly-ness of the adapters are because they are probably not made to the same spec. I have a cheap HOSA 1/4" to 1/8" that just does not seem to work with about 20% of my 1/4" connectors. You have 3 adapters, making the odds pretty good that something will be out of alignment.
 
Not sure what you mean by distortion, but partial contact between the adapters could cause all sorts of shenanigans from hiss/static to volume and perceived tone issues.
 
After researching this a bit more, the distortion might be caused by impedance mismatch or worse, a temporary short. Every way I have thought about trying to do this with just wires will create a short where the amp's output drivers can try drive each other instead of your headphones. Once the Left and Right wires touch each other, either in the middle or by connecting them to the same pin/ring, the signal can bypass the headphone drivers depending on resistance/impedance. So, you have to first sum the signal and then split signal without a low-resistance path between left and right. I did find a note from Rane that addresses the summing part (http://www.rane.com/note109.html). Unfortunately, the Rane note refers to summing circuits for subwoofers after a beefy active crossover network, so the diagrams may not apply to headphones and full-range sound. 
 
https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/71903/how-could-i-build-a-headphone-stereo-to-mono-converter
 
I cannot vouch for the above circuit as my basic understanding of LR circuits only goes as far as isolated circuits, not combined between an amplifier and transducers. We have beefy resistors, Electrolytic (I assume) Capacitors, and bleeder resistors for those caps...Gonna make a pretty ugly cable!
 
I wonder if beefy diodes may work or not. Again, I know what diodes do, but not how they might affect a circuit or sound.
 
Your problem does not appear to have a simple solution...

 

[Stegosaurus]

  The engineering staff at the local university use little else besides Belden, I have worked with those gentlemen on many occasions. They (Belden) have some ofc wire in some of their three wire cables as I recall but i do not have the part numbers in front of me. Canare is good, I use their connectors mostly but those are now made in China, sigh. 
 
The story on which Hoosiers is based has to do with tiny Milan high school and a famous last minute shot to win the championship. There are 12 high schools in the US that seat more than 10,000, Indiana has ten of them lol. Anyway I digress, good luck with the cables, I have to finish installing some french doors and then I want to see if I can build a Bottlehead Crack in 6 hours so I have my day planned, oh and I am cooking outdoors late tonight as well.

Good to know that Americans still make quality goods. Ill defiantly look for their products in the future.
Enjoy the crack build...looks like fun!
Marion High where I grew up is the 6th largest I think.