DIY Cable Questions and Comments Thread

Aug 29, 2017 at 11:25 AM Post #7,411 of 10,590
Did you use the whole cable or just the inner conductors? I did cable with just the 4 conductors without the jacket and it is more pliable than w2893 with the jacket


I used the whole cable. Did you use any kind of outer shell like paracord?

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Aug 29, 2017 at 11:27 AM Post #7,412 of 10,590
I'm planning to build a balanced custom headphone cable for Hifiman HE-400i. I've build the balanced custom cable for Senn HD600 using Canare L-4E6S Star-Quad cable, but it's too bulky, stiff and heavy. Can anyone recommend me a good cable I can use?

Not to shamelessly plug, but I am currently selling 2 balanced Hifiman cables with SMC connectors if you were possibly looking to buy an already built cable.
 
Aug 29, 2017 at 11:31 AM Post #7,413 of 10,590
I used the whole cable.

Canare's jackets are generally pretty stiff. I took off the black jacket and the metal whatchamacallit and just sleeved the four wires in paracord. The paracord gives some microphonics but its pretty light and flexible. If you want to keep the outer jacket, I recommend w2893. The Mogami stuff is usually more flexible.
 
Aug 29, 2017 at 11:31 AM Post #7,414 of 10,590
If I am working with star quad I use the whole cable. If I want individual wires, I get individual wires. Depending on where you live your only option could be to strip the wires from star quad in order to get quality wire.
 
Aug 29, 2017 at 11:45 AM Post #7,415 of 10,590
If I am working with star quad I use the whole cable. If I want individual wires, I get individual wires. Depending on where you live your only option could be to strip the wires from star quad in order to get quality wire.

To each his own I guess. I was doing a single-entry cable and it was nice being able to strip off the jacket and have the 4 wires already twisted together. All I had to do was slide the paracord over it and solder connectors. It also ended up perfectly round, not lumpy like I see a lot of others here.

My next cable I plan to do the same way but without any paracord. We'll see how long the twist stays together without anything holding in in shape.
 
Aug 29, 2017 at 12:47 PM Post #7,416 of 10,590
To each his own I guess. I was doing a single-entry cable and it was nice being able to strip off the jacket and have the 4 wires already twisted together. All I had to do was slide the paracord over it and solder connectors. It also ended up perfectly round, not lumpy like I see a lot of others here.

My next cable I plan to do the same way but without any paracord. We'll see how long the twist stays together without anything holding in in shape.

What paracord in size did you use sleeving to cover the 4 wires twisted together? What size did you use for the 2 wires connecting to the headphone?
 
Aug 29, 2017 at 2:24 PM Post #7,418 of 10,590
On most star quad there is wire braid. I was curious if you left that in place as well? To me that adds more stiffness to the cable than the outside jacket.
 
Aug 29, 2017 at 6:23 PM Post #7,420 of 10,590
If I am working with star quad I use the whole cable. If I want individual wires, I get individual wires. Depending on where you live your only option could be to strip the wires from star quad in order to get quality wire.

Where do you get essentially the same wire that is found inside of mogami quad for the about the same price?

cloth/paper/string filler stuff

Dielectric
 
Aug 29, 2017 at 7:01 PM Post #7,421 of 10,590
The wire I purchase I do so at 15,000 feet at a time from a major manufacturer, ofc, 24 awg. I did not say it was essentially the same wire in those exact words; it is probably larger than some Mogami used and the strand count could well be different, I just said if I want to buy individual wire, I tend to do just that. Most anyone can approach Mogami, Belden, Canare, Carol, etc and offer to buy specific types of wire but there are usually minimum purchases required, or even special runs of wire. They will brand it any way you like, if you purchase enough but the normal DIYer does not generally need those quantities.

While cloth, paper, and string stuff are not exactly great conductors, I was unaware they were being used as dielectric materials in star quad but I guess the term could apply. I have heard of such things referred to as fillers. Fillers are used to keep the cable round and to eliminate convolution.
 
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Aug 30, 2017 at 6:40 AM Post #7,424 of 10,590
Why don't people use the shield as the ground cable in their headphone cables?
Because headphones do not use ground, they use positive and negative only.
 

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