DIY Cable Questions and Comments Thread

[PinkyPowers]

I found that out. It was something like $3, as opposed to $8.

 

[Johnnystuff]

WARNING: noob questions ahead.
 
I was looking around trying to make my first personal set of cables and I'd like to understand how to choose the section. I understand that the higher the section the higher the resistance but aren't we in the totally-negligible range here, at least untill AWG 18 or even 16? I'd like my cables to be (and look) solid and possibly ever-lasting. So, talking about real specs, it all boils down to how many amps will be running into them. But how can I calculate them? In the specs there are generally listed the v and a given res (like 2.9Vrms @32 ohms). Is it correct dividing 2.9/32 and assuming 0.9 A is the value? That would mean AWG 22/21 or 0.7mm as a bare minimum, is that correct?
 
What I don't understand about that is that it looks like V is fixed and varying R we have I while afaik I should be fixed so for instance they should say "this device can output at max 1A" instead of the archaic form "2.9V at 32ohms". In that case it would be pretty straight forward to pick up the right section instead of delving into the internet looking for conversion tables, devices specs and whatnot. Not sure if I made myself clear but that's still me being a noob I guess
 
Last one: euro shops that have *all*the*things*? I don't want to dwell with custom fees, untrackable expeditions and epical shipping times so if I'll have to pay 5 extra bucks it'll be good for me. The only one I know is Audiophonics which is pretty good but I'd like options.
 
Thanks.

 

[Vidal]

I thought that the higher the cross section of cable the lower the resistance.
 
So thinner fuse wire has a higher resistance, it heats up with a lower current and bing! it melts.
 
 

  WARNING: noob questions ahead.
 
I understand that the higher the section the higher the resistance but aren't we in the totally-negligible range here, 

 
I thought that the higher the cross section of cable the lower the resistance. 
 
So thinner fuse wire has a higher resistance, it heats up with a lower current and bing! it melts.

 

[Johnnystuff]

  I thought that the higher the cross section of cable the lower the resistance.
 
So thinner fuse wire has a higher resistance, it heats up with a lower current and bing! it melts.

 
I misunderstood cross-section with lenght. So, does this mean I shell use rails cables?
 
No seriously, this info makes me a little more confused. Why should someone go for AWG28 instead of 16 then? Also, which is the max amperage I should build these cables for? How many amps a good desktop amp can output? How about a tube amp? As far as I've seen so far it's always 1A. Haven't checked tubes though.

 

[Vidal]

You want thinner cable for flexibility and weight, a headphone cable made from 16AWG wouldn't be very useable. Obviously at home you can go thicker than one for portable use.
 
I wouldn't worry about current if you've ever seen the floating voice coil in a pair of DT990s you'd know there can't be much current going to the speaker.

 

[liquidzoo]

You want thinner cable for flexibility and weight, a headphone cable made from 16AWG wouldn't be very useable. Obviously at home you can go thicker than one for portable use.

I wouldn't worry about current if you've ever seen the floating voice coil in a pair of DT990s you'd know there can't be much current going to the speaker.

16 would be heavy and big...think power tool power cord big.

I normally make my cables out of 26 AWG wire (I think a lot of people do the same) and I've never gone bigger than 22 or 24, and even then they were stiff and not very user friendly.

 

[Johnnystuff]

So we're talking about 0.2mm² for 24 AWG. There's not much choice tbh since the next one (at least on Audiophonics) is 0.5mm² which is 20 AWG. Also on the insanely priced ones, those in silver and gold, nothing less than 0.5mm². Meh I was tempted. Does it make any difference using silver? Anything you can _hear_ I mean?
 
Talking about these in particular I don't get how they're insulated or even "if". It says polyurethane paint but.... is it an actual insulation or just to keep them separated in the roll? Do I have to insulate them one by one or can I bind them together and do the three of them? I'm asking because I don't see any 0.2 sleeve at all. The minimum is 0.65 and it says "ideal for 0.4-0.5 wires".

 

[PinkyPowers]

I added a few extra touches to my Audio Technica cable.

In addition to the earhooks, I attempted to make a chin cinch out of heatshrink tubing. But it melted onto the cable. I had to cut it off with an exacto knife, which left exposed patches of wire that shorted my left channel to ground.

I head to heat up the cable with my hot air gun, and pull the left side strands apart a little, and let them reseat in a way where they were not shorted together. Then I did my best to cover up theses exposed areas with clear liquid electrical tape.

In the end it turned out pretty good. But there was a few minutes there where I was overcome with the devastation of my failure. A dark moment for sure.

 

[HirschiAUT]

So we're talking about 0.2mm² for 24 AWG. There's not much choice tbh since the next one (at least on Audiophonics) is 0.5mm² which is 20 AWG. Also on the insanely priced ones, those in silver and gold, nothing less than 0.5mm². Meh I was tempted. Does it make any difference using silver? Anything you can _hear_ I mean?

Talking about these in particular I don't get how they're insulated or even "if". It says polyurethane paint but.... is it an actual insulation or just to keep them separated in the roll? Do I have to insulate them one by one or can I bind them together and do the three of them? I'm asking because I don't see any 0.2 sleeve at all. The minimum is 0.65 and it says "ideal for 0.4-0.5 wires".

Regarding sources for wires in Europe i also searched a lot recently for my first diy cable, and found these:

Toxic Cables, they start with 0,7£ per foot for 26awg occ wires.
Shipping is 15£ inside EU, you can request shipping for 6£ per mail, but then it is not tracked.

http://www.toxic-cables.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=68&sort=p.price&order=ASC


The other source in Europe is ForzaAudioworks.
There is only one choice, 24awg 7n occ for 4,5€ per meter, shipping is 5€ inside EU.
And they also offer techflex nylon sleeving, heard that is a solid choice for flexibility and non-microphonic.

http://forzaaudioworks.com/en/category.php?id_category=11


From the US i found BTG-Audio, offering 26awg for 0,8$ per foot, and he would ship for 10$, again untracked.

http://btg-audio.com/webstore.htm#!/26-AWG-Clear-XLPE-wire-per-ft/p/11559158/category=2620180

The above are all PE insulated, thus being very flexible.


Another possibility is Lunashops from China, i will get my connectors from there.
They also offer 26awg 7n occ wires, for 3$ per meter and shipping is INCLUDED in that price, so that might be good for small amounts, but untracked below 30$ value.
BUT it is Teflon insulated, and i have heard that this might be a little stiff, no personal experience though.

http://www.lunashops.com/search.php?encode=YTo1OntzOjg6ImNhdGVnb3J5IjtzOjE6IjAiO3M6ODoia2V5d29yZHMiO3M6MzoiQXdnIjtzOjE6IngiO3M6MjoiNDUiO3M6MToieSI7czoyOiIxNCI7czoxODoic2VhcmNoX2VuY29kZV90aW1lIjtpOjE0NTcwMjk2MDU7fQ==


Hope this helps a little

 

[Johnnystuff]

Hope this helps a little

Damn! It helps bigtime, especially to understand that my first honorable intentions not to buy from big(ger) Mother China were just me being a moron 
 
 
Anyway, much appreciated thanks.

 

[HirschiAUT]

Damn! It helps bigtime, especially to understand that my first honorable intentions not to buy from big(ger) Mother China were just me being a moron 



Anyway, much appreciated thanks.

Glad to be of help

And regarding ordering in china, i will order there for the first few trys because of the low cost especially for low volume orders.
And something i just did not find in europe are 2.5 and 3.5 mm trrs balanced plugs i need for my oppo pm3, so since i will order them there i might as well add some wire for the start

For future cables i will most likely go with either toxic or btg, maybe forza if i want something "bigger".

As for plugs, there are those eidolic plugs, boy do they look sexy, and i would not mind the price of 13$ or so a piece, but add 25$ delivery from US (again no source in EU known to me) and it gets ugly

 

[Sesameopen]

Hey guys, I've been reading in the DIY cable thread and this one, but I haven't really found any tutorials on how to make one from scratch. I have a MEE audio Pinnacle P1 and I really do not like the cables it came with.
 
Can I just buy a 3.5mm jack, some wire, a Y-splitter, and the MMCX connectors? Is it that easy? Or is it that easy on paper? Or is it not that easy?
 
Thanks.

 

[PinkyPowers]

A solder station and Ohm Meter are required, too. But, yeah, it's more or less that easy.

 

[Sesameopen]

A solder station and Ohm Meter are required, too. But, yeah, it's more or less that easy.

Is there any guide on how to do this? Or is it all by experience? Looking up the parts it's not that expensive.

 

[PinkyPowers]

Is there any guide on how to do this? Or is it all by experience? Looking up the parts it's not that expensive.

There may be, but I don't know of one.

You can't go wrong with these items:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ANZRT4M/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1457402877&sr=1&keywords=hakko+fx-888d

http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-MSR-R500-Digital-Multimeter-Continuity/dp/B00KHP6EIK/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1457402938&sr=1-1&keywords=multimeter

And I forgot... you'll also need these.

http://www.amazon.com/Kester-Solder-Rosin-Core-Spool/dp/B00068IJPO/ref=sr_1_5?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1457403112&sr=1-5&keywords=solder

http://www.amazon.com/Kester-951-Soldering-Low-Solids-No-Clean/dp/B004X4KOWS/ref=sr_1_5?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1457403176&sr=1-5&keywords=flux+pen

http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-CHP-170-Stand-off-Construction-21-Degree/dp/B017ODDPNO/ref=sr_1_15?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1457402938&sr=1-15&keywords=multimeter

http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-MSR-R500-Digital-Multimeter-Continuity/dp/B00KHP6EIK/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1457402938&sr=1-1&keywords=multimeter