DIY Cable Questions and Comments Thread

[Paladin79]

 
Sounds interesting. I was thinking of cotton or silk sleeving. Looks great, but can get dirty easily. 
 
Stuff like this from PlusSoundAudio is very nice:
http://www.plussoundaudio.com/diy/components.html
Black, White, Silver available. 
 
Paracord and shoelaces are also good. I've used TechFlex Nylon Multifilament with good results, but it can be a bit noisy. 
You can search eBay for "BRAIDED NYLON SLEEVING tech flex" and find some 25' lengths for under $5, which might be good to experiment with. 
 If the wires are looser int he sleeve, they will be more flexible and less noisy. Too loose and it feel weird. 
 
DoubleHelex Cables has "pure white cotton sleeve", but i gotta wonder about the durability of the stuff. 
https://doublehelixcables.com/product/dhc-pure-white-cotton-sleeve/
 
parts Connexion has "pure silk tubing"
http://www.partsconnexion.com/tubing_silk.html
I have no personal experience with this stuff, but it looks interesting. Not cheap
 
@Paladin79 - can you post a link to an example of what you are referring to? I think you posted a pic of some purple stuff a while back. I'm always looking for something interesting. 

I will try to post a photo when I get back to my office.  There is no link to an example, I have my specs for what I had made but those will only be in the product description if I go with this fabric/braid.
 
I had a pretty good idea what you were referring to Allan and I generally go in my own direction on this type of product. I want something that will tighten down and conform to a cable but lacks the microphonics of nylon mesh or plastic.

 

[SVTong]

I know that ViaBlue also has some of the cotton/nylon hybrid sleeving, but they are hard to come by and it's pretty expensive.

http://www.takefiveaudio.com/categories/269-viablue-high-quality-cable-sleeve
 
http://www.viablue.de/com/sleeves.shtml

 

[Paladin79]

  I know that ViaBlue also has some of the cotton/nylon hybrid sleeving, but they are hard to come by and it's pretty expensive.

http://www.takefiveaudio.com/categories/269-viablue-high-quality-cable-sleeve
 
http://www.viablue.de/com/sleeves.shtml

I cannot speak for anyone else but I think it would be nice to find such product at a reasonable price that had inside diameters listed so you knew what wire or cable would fit into it and what it might shrink down to when taught. A good variety of colors and patterns would be good as well. Perhaps they could offer some 24 and 26 awg ofc wire of good quality also.  Someone should work on that.

 

 

[Happytalk]

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...

Thanks! This has been my inference, but I thought I'd ask the experts. I've seen a little box somewhere that does this. Just can't find it. Was hoping for a cable, but I'm officially all in this hobby and don't mind stacking components wth a rubber band during my commutes. I'll report back if I find the box and if it is an acceptable solution. Maybe one or two folks are interested.

 

[1yay1]

 
there a many types of tech flex. which one are you thinking of using? Multifilament nylon tech flex isn't too bad, and has the protective benefits of nylon. The cotton stuff Paladin79 refers to is very soft, but may not be as protective. it's a tradeoff. Many people use Paracord or even shoelaces. Lot's of options.
 
One thing that I think it true regardless of what you use. If you pull it very tight over the wire, it will be more noisy. Pull it tight, then pull back a little and give the sleeve some slack, maybe a few inches of sleeving, then cut it.  
 

I was asking about this type of techflex: https://www.techflex.org/de/engmaschiges-design-geflecht-flexo-tight-weave.html or this: https://www.techflex.org/de/kabelschlauch-extrem-dehnbar-over-expanded.html and it's microphonics. Paracord i tried, but it had very slight microphonics it seemed.
My HD800 cable is looking like **** by now, and i really want to make something nice looking to replace it. 

 

[Allanmarcus]

 


there a many types of tech flex. which one are you thinking of using? Multifilament nylon tech flex isn't too bad, and has the protective benefits of nylon. The cotton stuff Paladin79 refers to is very soft, but may not be as protective. it's a tradeoff. Many people use Paracord or even shoelaces. Lot's of options.

One thing that I think it true regardless of what you use. If you pull it very tight over the wire, it will be more noisy. Pull it tight, then pull back a little and give the sleeve some slack, maybe a few inches of sleeving, then cut it.  
 

I was asking about this type of techflex: https://www.techflex.org/de/engmaschiges-design-geflecht-flexo-tight-weave.html or this: https://www.techflex.org/de/kabelschlauch-extrem-dehnbar-over-expanded.html and it's microphonics. Paracord i tried, but it had very slight microphonics it seemed.
My HD800 cable is looking like **** by now, and i really want to make something nice looking to replace it. 

Both of those would not be good for a headphone cable. Way too stiff. The only tech flex I would recommend is nylon multifiliment. Your profile doesn't say what country you are in. The reason I ask is that if you're in Germany or Europe you can get the summer sc-peacock mk2 cable which is probably the least microphonic cable out there. It's the same cable beyerdynamic used on the T1 gen 1. You can get it in the USA but shipping on a small quantity might be expensive.

 

[1yay1]

Yes i'm in Germany.
You mean something like this?
https://www.thomann.de/de/sommer_cable_square_4core_mkii_highflex.htm?ref=search_rslt_sommer+cable+4+core_184718_1
 
this is pretty much what i planned on using. just wanted to make it better looking with some sort of wrapping that actually fits the outer diameter and is available in europe/germany

 

[Allanmarcus]

  Yes i'm in Germany.
You mean something like this?
https://www.thomann.de/de/sommer_cable_square_4core_mkii_highflex.htm?ref=search_rslt_sommer+cable+4+core_184718_1
 
this is pretty much what i planned on using. just wanted to make it better looking with some sort of wrapping that actually fits the outer diameter and is available in europe/germany

Nope, this:
 
http://shop.sommercable.com/en/Cables/Bulk-Cables-Audio/Patch-Mikrofonkabel-SC-Peacock-MKII-200-0551.html
 
Buy a few meters of this, solder the connectors, and you are done. No tech flex needed.

 

[1yay1]

Well yes, but it won't look cool
I would like to wrap the same cable in some sort of cotton or whatever

 

[Allanmarcus]

Well yes, but it won't look cool
I would like to wrap the same cable in some sort of cotton or whatever

You can wrap the part between the Y split and the main connector with sleeping and leave the two wires between the Y and the tips bare. That might be a good compromise between cool and non-noisy.

 

[1yay1]

You can wrap the part between the Y split and the main connector with sleeping and leave the two wires between the Y and the tips bare. That might be a good compromise between cool and non-noisy.

 
What about using something like this in two different sizes, thicker pre split, and thinner ones post. Seems to be only shop i can find that seels cotton sleeves
https://shop.strato.de/epages/15261498.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/15261498/Categories/Gewebeschlauch/Baumwolle
https://shop.strato.de/epages/15261498.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/15261498/Categories/Gewebeschlauch/DIOLEN
 
Alternatively, the sommer cable also exists in blue, which looks pretty good and i would just use that one instead of the normal black one.
 
Now what is a good source for hd800 connectors? I could only find some from aliexpress or ebay.com, don't want to spend huge amount on boutique brand connectors. Just don't want them to have a bad fit or connection issues. 
Headphone plug i will use good ol' neutrik, worked perfect so far.

 

[Paladin79]

   
What about using something like this in two different sizes, thicker pre split, and thinner ones post. Seems to be only shop i can find that seels cotton sleeves
https://shop.strato.de/epages/15261498.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/15261498/Categories/Gewebeschlauch/Baumwolle
https://shop.strato.de/epages/15261498.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/15261498/Categories/Gewebeschlauch/DIOLEN
 
Alternatively, the sommer cable also exists in blue, which looks pretty good and i would just use that one instead of the normal black one.
 
Now what is a good source for hd800 connectors? I could only find some from aliexpress or ebay.com, don't want to spend huge amount on boutique brand connectors. Just don't want them to have a bad fit or connection issues. 
Headphone plug i will use good ol' neutrik, worked perfect so far.

I see some of the cables for the HD800's using TA4f connectors, those are available by Amphenol, Switchcraft, and Neutrik but I have a feeling you need the standard connector. Maybe either type can be used?

 

[Allanmarcus]

 

You can wrap the part between the Y split and the main connector with sleeping and leave the two wires between the Y and the tips bare. That might be a good compromise between cool and non-noisy.

 
What about using something like this in two different sizes, thicker pre split, and thinner ones post. Seems to be only shop i can find that seels cotton sleeves
https://shop.strato.de/epages/15261498.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/15261498/Categories/Gewebeschlauch/Baumwolle
https://shop.strato.de/epages/15261498.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/15261498/Categories/Gewebeschlauch/DIOLEN
 
Alternatively, the sommer cable also exists in blue, which looks pretty good and i would just use that one instead of the normal black one.
 
Now what is a good source for hd800 connectors? I could only find some from aliexpress or ebay.com, don't want to spend huge amount on boutique brand connectors. Just don't want them to have a bad fit or connection issues. 
Headphone plug i will use good ol' neutrik, worked perfect so far.

Unfortunately I cannot read those web sites, but the pictures look OK. The sleeving looks soft. If they are cotton or silk they get dirty rather easily, so you might want to get a dark color.
 
As for connectors, the HD-800 connectors are not cheap. expect to pay 20-50 euros, or more. Even Lunashops is not cheap - $36 is the cheapest.
 
You also have to be very careful when you solder the wire to the tips. It's quite easy to melt the tip. You can get extras from lunashops for $11, but then you have to wait. The HD800 tips are one of the hardest to solder.

 

[Paladin79]

I am checking out some of the Switchcraft  880x 2.5 mm mono connectors, they are quite tiny and lightweight but with Switchcraft quality. Cable opening is only about 3.25 mm but that should be fine for a couple strands of 24 awg wire.  Oftentimes you can tell the better connectors just by fit and finish, the screw threads on some imports are pretty bad.

 

[1yay1]

 
Unfortunately I cannot read those web sites, but the pictures look OK. The sleeving looks soft. If they are cotton or silk they get dirty rather easily, so you might want to get a dark color.
 
As for connectors, the HD-800 connectors are not cheap. expect to pay 20-50 euros, or more. Even Lunashops is not cheap - $36 is the cheapest.
 
You also have to be very careful when you solder the wire to the tips. It's quite easy to melt the tip. You can get extras from lunashops for $11, but then you have to wait. The HD800 tips are one of the hardest to solder.

Yes those are 100% cotton as far as i can tell, but i think i will try the normal blue one