[Christoph]

I'm pretty sure that for Fostex the connectors have to be soldered in reverse to the Senns but unfortunately I don't know of any others that you can use.

Yes, i know the polarity is reversed compared to Sennheiser, but also the connector pins are slightly longer.
Some people modify also the plastic housing of Sennheiser connectors to make them work with Fostex headphones, but this doesn't seem to be an ideal way.
I would prefer a proper and tight fit of the connectors, therefore i would prefer connectors that are especially made for Fostex.
Yes the Furutech are expensive, i've found other no-name China connectors for roughly half the price (still ~25 USD +shipping) , but then you don’t know how the quality is...

 

[Polarctic]

Hey guys, and gals and a Merry Christmas to you all!

Regarding the snow: I don't know if it's to cold to snow exactly, never heard that expression. It's around - 3 c at the moment. When it gets below - 20 c we usually say that it is guaranteed no mosquitoes outside. If it gets below -30 c, that is regarded as cold. Below - 40 c (yes, that happens) is known as "Flintstones" because some cheap car tires freeze and get flat spots at those low temperatures. So when you drive away it's like having log slices for tires just like the Flintstones. But we have no snow at sea level at the moment. If one is inclined to go skiing then just sling the skis on the shoulder and go behind the house and start up the mountain. Over 200 meters there is a lot of fresh powder snow. You better start early to catch the short window of daylight/twilight. The sun doesn't come above the horizon again util January. Today being Christmas eve means that we are at the turning point and the days are getting longer and longer. Tomorrow the day will be 3 seconds longer than today, they said on the news. I can't wait..
But enough of that.

I have been trying to read up on some cables, what is needed, what is best, different design and so forth. I have a small tip solder iron, I can borrow a multimeter if needed and I know the basics of soldering.
The cable making craft is enticing and also daunting and there is a lot of questions that present themselves from the get go;

Do I want silver wires?
Do I need silver wires?
What gauge?
Braided or paracord covered?
What size paracord?
What the heck is LITZ?
Do I need that?
What is a soldering pot? I don't think I want that.
Which connector suits the choosen setup?
Which splitter fits the setup?
Mmmmm, meh..

Have you been here? If so then you probably know the answer to many of these questions by now. You probably have a designated work space for this kind of job even. With shelves stacked full of dusty HI-FI skeletons and wire barrels, sine wave generator, power supplies. Luxo enlarger desktop lamp, table and carpet peppered with solder burns. Tray cabinets with connectors, splitters, heat shrinks, knobs, spares, fishing hook (hey what's that doing here?), soldering wire, flux, tape, crocodile clamps... And probably, close by, there is a long row of immaculate headphones, stock and modded.

Would you make me a good cable and send it to me?
I'm not after something very high end. This is for the porta pros after all. Good as they are, they are a modestly priced headphone so I'm thinking that the cable should reflect that. Good, at a resonable price.

 

[Paladin79]

Hey guys, and gals and a Merry Christmas to you all!

Regarding the snow: I don't know if it's to cold to snow exactly, never heard that expression. It's around - 3 c at the moment. When it gets below - 20 c we usually say that it is guaranteed no mosquitoes outside. If it gets below -30 c, that is regarded as cold. Below - 40 c (yes, that happens) is known as "Flintstones" because some cheap care tires freeze and get flat spots at those low temperatures. So when you drive away it's like having log slices for tires just like the Flintstones. But we have no snow at sea level at the moment. If one is inclined to go skiing then just sling the skis on the shoulder and go behind the house and start up the mountain. Over 200 meters there is a lot of fresh powder snow. You better start early to catch the short window of daylight/twilight. The sun doesn't come above the horizon again util January. Today being Christmas eve means that we are at the turning point and the days are getting longer and longer. Tomorrow the day will be 3 seconds longer than today, they said on the news. I can't wait..
But enough of that.

I have been trying to read up on some cables, what is needed, what is best, different design and so forth. I have a small tip solder iron, I can borrow a multimeter if needed and I know the basics of soldering.
The cable making craft is enticing and also daunting and there is a lot of questions that present themselves from the get go;

Do I want silver wires?
Do I need silver wires?
What gauge?
Braided or paracord covered?
What size paracord?
What the heck is LITZ?
Do I need that?
What is a soldering pot? I don't think I want that.
Which connector suits the choosen setup?
Which splitter fits the setup?
Mmmmm, meh..

Have you been here? If so then you probably know the answer to many of these questions by now. You probably have a designated work space for this kind of job even. With shelves stacked full of dusty HI-FI skeletons and wire barrels, sine wave generator, power supplies. Luxo enlarger desktop lamp, table and carpet peppered with solder burns. Tray cabinets with connectors, splitters, heat shrinks, knobs, spares, fishing hook (hey what's that doing here?), soldering wire, flux, tape, crocodile clamps... And probably, close by, there is a long row of immaculate headphones, stock and modded.

Would you make me a good cable and send it to me?
I'm not after something very high end. This is for the porta pros after all. Good as they are, they are a modestly priced headphone so I'm thinking that the cable should reflect that. Good, at a resonable price.

It takes time to learn all of the ins and outs of cable building so I will just answer the first question. Personally I do not like silver wire but others may prefer it. I ran a series of blind tests with most wire types made and silver could be consistently picked out because it sounded different, but different does not always mean better. I tend to use 24 awg high strand count oxygen free copper wire or better. In my testing I found few people who could hear much difference between ofc or .99999 pure copper etc. so that is a pretty decent start IMHO.

 

[imas69]

Ha, when I were a lad it was so cold that we had to sit in the fridge to keep warm.

Silver is fine but to have a bass impact you are looking at 22 awg or lower
No you don't need Silver although it tends to have more detail but takes a while to burn in
I would never use anything less than 24 awg
Braided au naturel for 8 strands or paracord sleeve for 4 strands(unless IEM)
3 or 4mm paracord
Litz is enamel coated and wrapped in cotton and no you don't need it, it is mainly to stop oxidisation of the copper (please correct me if I'm wrong)
A solder pot is to melt the enamel from the tips of the litz wire for tinning and soldering
Connectors and splitter need to be chosen after you have established how thick your cable will be.
Do the porta pros actually have a detachable cable?
Happy Christmas old chap and may Santa bring you some HD800s

 

[Christoph]

Silver is fine but to have a bass impact you are looking at 22 awg or lower

Do you mean with silver wire you have less bass overall (compared to the same diameter as copper) or do you mean less dynamics (less punch) with >AWG22 silver wire?

 

[Snow Blind]

Merry X-mas all! Sorry to keep bringing this up but i still could use some guidance.


Ended up buying some pre-made RCA connects using Gotham wire. Sound nice!

I'm still struggling picking out wire for a headphone cable build.

Hifiman HE4XX cable build: (1) 1/4" (2) 1/8" - keep the wire intact pre Y-split and sleeve with para - some sort of Y-splitter (or heat shrink) - L/R leads both +/- same para sleeve. What i'm thinking:

• Headphones: Mogami W2799, W2893 or W2534... all seem popular. I know the W2799 with casing fits 550 sleeves. W2534 can probably be sleeved with 1/4" paracord. Anyone try this? Would then size down on the L and R lengths to 325? Not sure if that will fit both wires in each lead. Are these what i should be looking at? Anything better that would fit my application and requirements.

• Connectors: Neutrik PX or C series 1/4" stereo. No idea what i should get for the 1/8" into each L/R cup of the HE4XX... the narrow recess has me worried. Anyone know what fits in the Hifimans with 1/8" inputs?

TIA and have a happy and safe new year!

 

[imas69]

Do you mean with silver wire you have less bass overall (compared to the same diameter as copper) or do you mean less dynamics (less punch) with >AWG22 silver wire?

Silver wire less than 22awg will be less bassy but more defined, the picture is of 4 x 22awg Neotech Silver wires braided and fitting easily into the Furutech connector without even opening it, I would say when open you could even get
a piece of heatshrink in too for a bit more strain relief

 

[imas69]

Image not uploading

 

[imas69]

4 x 22 awg neotech silver into Furutech FT-2PS

 

[Christoph]

Silver wire less than 22awg will be less bassy but more defined, the picture is of 4 x 22awg Neotech Silver wires braided and fitting easily into the Furutech connector without even opening it, I would say when open you could even get
a piece of heatshrink in too for a bit more strain relief

Image not uploading

Did you want to post a photo? This would be helpful for me.

4 x 22 awg neotech silver into Furutech FT-2PS

Thanks for your suggestions and informations. The kind of bass response and amount is something that i pay attention to (the bass is a key feature of the Fostex TH900 that i have).
Therefore i'm still thinking about the amount and size of the wires.

 

[imas69]

I have uploaded the photo numerous times but it doesn't seem to go o

nto the page

 

[imas69]

Please excuse the carpet, the kids were making a mess and I needed to vacuum

 

[Christoph]

I have uploaded the photo numerous times but it doesn't seem to go o nto the page

Please excuse the carpet, the kids were making a mess and I needed to vacuum

No worries and thanks for the photo!

 

[imas69]

You're welcome, personally if you can stretch your wallet then I would always go for the 8 strands, I used 8 strands of the Neotech silver for my HD800 and the
difference is phenomenal, especially in the bass department and toning down the treble.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Where are you getting the wire? Is there a European source? Great looking cable, I didn't even notice the carpet