DIY Cable Questions and Comments Thread

[CoiL]

.04mm diameter is 46AWG
https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/wire/awg-to-mm.html

180 x 46awg is 23.6AWG
https://www.v-cap.com/awg-calculator.php

Thanks for those links!

Here is a picture of it. https://imgur.com/a/xtxL0jU

That think doesn`t look very flexible (holding its bends everywhere). Seems like a not good wire for DIY cable.

 

[kingkikapu]

Could someone please tell me how to ready Litz wire for soldering, I'm told that it can't just be tinned and soldered like bog standard wire, thanks

You need to use a solder pot to melt the enamel coating on the individual wires. If you dip the end of the litz wire into the solder pot, the enamel coating will burn off the individual wires and tin the end. After this you can solder the wire to your connectors as usual.

 

[CoiL]

The latter Litz cable/wire I posted about, I just used high wattage soldering iron, with 60/40 tin and soldering paste to firstly tin ends that need to be soldered and it worked quite easily, no solder pot needed imo.

 

[kingkikapu]

I’m not a big fan of that method, but it’s doable. You just have little guarantee of stripping all of the enamel that way.

Plus it’s a bit messy.

 

[CoiL]

Idk, I got rid of that enamel perfectly (needs some practice) and that particular Litz wire actually reacts pretty well also to direct soldering, though, there will be some enamel residue inside soldering point which is not recommended.
That cable I made has same impedance/resistance on all 5 "channels". I always measure cable pins/connections to be equal and close as possible to bare wire measurement.
Anyway, got my Fidelio X1 dual 3.5mm stereo sockets mod done and tried that cable - marvelous result! details from high-mids and up and bass tightnes clarity seemed to be improved by short listening session. Will do more proper A/B comparing to my previous DIY Van Damme XKE Pro-patch cable.
Very happy with result atm, especially for 17€ and great looks

 

[Feilong4]

Anyone know where I can get some wires like the ones here:



It was originally an HD800 cable made by Impact Audio Cables. The original owner says Impact Audio Cables says this about it: 5N (99.999) pure copper wire with a PE insulation

I really like the ergonomics of this cable and would like to use more of these. Just the right amount of flexibility and weight for me. I tried Norne Audio's DIY SPC wires and they're a bit too springy for me.

 

[mattiav]

Anyone know where I can get some wires like the ones here:



It was originally an HD800 cable made by Impact Audio Cables. The original owner says Impact Audio Cables says this about it: 5N (99.999) pure copper wire with a PE insulation

I really like the ergonomics of this cable and would like to use more of these. Just the right amount of flexibility and weight for me. I tried Norne Audio's DIY SPC wires and they're a bit too springy for me.

There is a lot available on AliExpress, although obviously there is some element of buyer beware.

I’m also trying to pick some wire for braided IEM and full sized cables, but right now I’m mostly wondering about the differences the coating will make - Teflon seems like it will be pretty stiff. The other common options are PE and PVC, but I can’t really find a lot of info on the advantages/disadvantages of either...

 

[Hal Rockwell]

I plan to recable my Takstar HF580, but I don't have much time to dedicate to it. Is there any ready made, bulk, Y-Split cables for sale anywhere?

 

[CoiL]

I had questions from some users, hope this answers:

Is it as flexible as KPE stock cable? Well, answer is - it just can`t be! Look at this pic:

It is just so dramatic increase in copper weight and strand count. KPE stock cable is pretty "loosely" braided and has very thin & soft wires.
Basically my own sleeved wire is like 3 KPE cable wires put in bunch together as "triangular" way.
And like I`ve already told on threads, extra layer of polyester/silk wounding around copper + sleeving and braiding tightness will determine the overall tightness/softness of cable. For me it is between good and great but is improving over usage as bond between sleeve, polyester/silk and copper gets "looser" from inside.
For what it is worth, I think it is softer than Van Damme XKE Pro-patch cable (which is usually my go-to cable with audio gear for flexibility, price and high quality (quite low impedance): http://www.van-damme.com/vandamme_product/van-damme-pro-grade-classic-xke-pro-patch-cable/
If I compare 4-core braid of self-made cable vs. iBasso IT01, then I think if same loosely braided as latter, that self-made cable is actually softer and more flexible. 1-core thickness is about same on both.

Took some more pics after my Fidelio X1 dual 3.5mm TRS sockets mod:

 

[RestlessZombi]

I plan to recable my Takstar HF580, but I don't have much time to dedicate to it. Is there any ready made, bulk, Y-Split cables for sale anywhere?

I know a few company's do pre-terminated cables where you just need to connect the connectors on the headphone side or, as in your case, hard wire them to the drivers. I'm not sure on any in Israel though.

OidioSound.co.uk does have them, I have bought from them a few times, though Connectors and Wire.

 

[JackFlash]

I know a few company's do pre-terminated cables where you just need to connect the connectors on the headphone side or, as in your case, hard wire them to the drivers. I'm not sure on any in Israel though.

OidioSound.co.uk does have them, I have bought from them a few times, though Connectors and Wire.

Perhaps this would work?

http://btg-audio.com/webstore.htm#!/Th900-Stock-cable/p/71800559/category=2620180

 

[Hal Rockwell]

I know a few company's do pre-terminated cables where you just need to connect the connectors on the headphone side or, as in your case, hard wire them to the drivers. I'm not sure on any in Israel though.

OidioSound.co.uk does have them, I have bought from them a few times, though Connectors and Wire.

Thanks for the suggestion. Those guys actually ship to Israel for free, but their cable cost a bit more than I was planning to spend.

 

[JackFlash]

Thanks for the suggestion. Those guys actually ship to Israel for free, but their cable cost a bit more than I was planning to spend.

You might head over to the bang for the buck cable thread.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/low-end-cheap-generic-otherwise-bang-for-buck-cable-thread.891911/

A lot of the "headless" cables out there aren't great. It might be worth purchasing a cable with connectors, cutting them off, and reattaching. Good luck!

 

[RestlessZombi]

I have used these from them which is really cheap..

Sennheiser Off Cut Cable for 2m with 6.3mm connector - £6
https://oidiosound.co.uk/diy/wire/sennheiser-offcut-cable.html

Beyerdynamic Straight 3M Cable with 3.5mm and 6.3mm convertor - £15
https://oidiosound.co.uk/diy/cables/beyerdynamic-3m-dt.html

I'm not so much advertising this site, but most places will have off cut cables from the work they do, this place just sells them. Depending on how much of an upgrade you are trying to do, I have bought wire and connectors from a few places and made my own. You can easily halve the cost by soldering on the end connector too.

I have used recently Designacable.com as well, i'm sure there would be a cable there that you could remove an end connector from.

 

[Hal Rockwell]

I have used these from them which is really cheap..

Sennheiser Off Cut Cable for 2m with 6.3mm connector - £6
https://oidiosound.co.uk/diy/wire/sennheiser-offcut-cable.html

Beyerdynamic Straight 3M Cable with 3.5mm and 6.3mm convertor - £15
https://oidiosound.co.uk/diy/cables/beyerdynamic-3m-dt.html

I'm not so much advertising this site, but most places will have off cut cables from the work they do, this place just sells them. Depending on how much of an upgrade you are trying to do, I have bought wire and connectors from a few places and made my own. You can easily halve the cost by soldering on the end connector too.

I have used recently Designacable.com as well, i'm sure there would be a cable there that you could remove an end connector from.

I'm not looking for a new cable to upgrade from the existing one, but to replace it. The factory did a sloppy stripping and soldering job, so if I intend to fix it, I'll be needing to cut, strip and solder the cable in both cups. The cable consists of very thin wires with a nylon core and I just haye working with those.