[wormcycle]

Thank you, everything checks:
- the cable I am plannng to mod is a Sennheiser stock cable that I replaced with HD650 cable
- as you said two wires, and two little pins on each side, four wires all together
 
This will save me a lot of money, I think that Sennheiser HD50 balanced cable was made pretty much the same way and they are selling it for  $239.

 

[Paladin79]

  I think having proper braiding for interconnects is more important as common-mode noise/EMI generated in the interconnected will be amplified. Since most cabled headphones do not have amplifiers built into the cups, braiding and shielding are less important since that noise will not be amplified compared to the amplified music signal. We are talking about 60-80+ dB differences which is 1 million to 100 million times lower energies. 60-db noise can be heard on its own when there is no amplified signal to mask it AND if you are in a very quiet place with the volume turned up.
 
Most wireless and Bluetooth headphone have built in amplifiers. With the small space within the cup, you can get EMI from the circuit being amplified by the circuit. Probably not so bad these days, but those early models...

I have a decent understanding of EMI and electronics in general and proper braiding is important by all means. Belden is a good source of info and I deal with them often (they are in northern Indiana). I tend to trust what they say about twisted pair, bonded pair, etc.

 

[Paladin79]

  Thank you, everything checks:
- the cable I am plannng to mod is a Sennheiser stock cable that I replaced with HD650 cable
- as you said two wires, and two little pins on each side, four wires all together
 
This will save me a lot of money, I think that Sennheiser HD50 balanced cable was made pretty much the same way and they are selling it for  $239.

I have done some soldering on the hd650 stock cable and it appeared to be Litz wire, if you have any issues with it accepting solder, get with me and I will help if I can. 

 

[alpha421]

Just use an iron that goes up to around 700 degrees F, and it'll easily melt off the insulation for a proper and clean contact with the solder.  For headphone/iem cables, this is all you need.  For thicker gauge litz like those on speaker cables, invest in a soldering pot.

 

[Paladin79]

  Just use an iron that goes up to around 700 degrees F, and it'll easily melt off the insulation for a proper and clean contact with the solder.  For headphone/iem cables, this is all you need.  For thicker gauge litz like those on speaker cables, invest in a soldering pot.

It can be done with a 700 degree iron and the understanding that every strand of wire needs to be tinned. Even small gauge wire can be  as much as 105 strand, a magnifying light helps a lot.

 

[Gladzilla]

which cable should i use to make a mini xlr to 3.5mm for my q701 want to use a lower gauge wire to provide cleaner sound and more power?

 

[Paladin79]

 
Quote:

  which cable should i use to make a mini xlr to 3.5mm for my q701 want to use a lower gauge wire to provide cleaner sound and more power?

Mini xlr's do not generally accommodate large cable, personally I like things like Belden 1800b or 1508A, both available at Markertek, 24 awg conductors, shielded with ground. Lower gauge number means bigger wire, if you were hoping to go above 24 awg I would have to think about it some. If you want to braid individual wires you could do that as well if you like and maybe find some 22 awg. The 1508a will take 550 paracord nicely if you want to dress the cable up a bit. In at least six cases when I have used this wire the recipients raved about the sound quality compared to original equipment cables. I used that cable with paracord on this cable, it is highly flexible for a jacketed cable.

 

[Paladin79]

I just happened to notice that Markertek has the Hirose connectors normally used on MrSpeakers cables. Other places like Digikey and Mouser have them but this is the first time I saw them there.
 

Hirose HR10A-7P-4P 4-Pin Male Push-Pull Connector with 7mm Male Shell

 
 
 
They take a little getting used to but it is one of my favorite headphone connectors. I have never had one fail in any cable application. Female sockets are readily available for DIY headphone projects.

 

[rmoody]

  I just happened to notice that Markertek has the Hirose connectors normally used on MrSpeakers cables. Other places like Digikey and Mouser have them but this is the first time I saw them there.
 

Hirose HR10A-7P-4P 4-Pin Male Push-Pull Connector with 7mm Male Shell

 
 
 
They take a little getting used to but it is one of my favorite headphone connectors. I have never had one fail in any cable application. Female sockets are readily available for DIY headphone projects.

I love these! Best price I can find for the male pined one is from Dan. For the mate to that, some eBay seller in France has the best price I have found. Linkypoo: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIROSE-HR10A-7J-4S-COMPATIBLE-CONNECTOR-NEW-/322046580108?hash=item4afb78d58c:g:YkwAAOSwDk5T~f4I
 
This guy also sells the 7P-4P: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIROSE-HR10A-7P-4P-COMPATIBLE-CONNECTOR-NEW/321089774722?rt=nc&_soffid=5&_soffType=PromotionalShipping&_trksid=p5731.m3795
 
I've used these to make modular cables for my Ether C (see my pics on this thread) and soon for my IEMs, just have not gotten the connector for the IEM yet. One cable, multiple pig tails for balanced, SE, 1/8", 1/4", etc.
 
My only gripe is the crimp on ring, I cannot find the approved tool for that, so I use just pliars and have to file it down until it fits.
 
Soldering is very easy, get the connector clamped in something with the pin you need to solder up and the solder cup will face up, touch of solder on the wire, bit on the cup, apply heat, add wire, quarter turn, repeat. Lighted magnifiers are perfect for us older gents.

 

[Paladin79]

Hirose does sell a clamping tool for that ring but it is pretty expensive. I will try to show you an alternate method soon using another type of tool. I do have a lot of other sources for the connector and MrSpeakers sells them as well under a different brand, they are something like $6.99 each there. I got a cable with my Alpha Primes that some company built, they did not use the clamp, they did use glue other than maybe a bit of super glue. I prefer using the clamp and screw, used properly it offers the most secure method of attaching the cable. Silicone tape can be used to build up the area under the clamp if needed.

 

[mrjayviper]

1. any site for braiding techniques? the one listed in the first post is now gone
 
2. Is there any difference between the connectors on a AKG K7 series phones with detachable cables? just wondering if I need to look for something specific when buying the mini-XLR.
 
thanks a lot.

 

[HirschiAUT]

1. any site for braiding techniques? the one listed in the first post is now gone

For braiding tutorials i usually go to http://www.paracordguild.com

Just search for "flat Braid" or "round Braid" or something like that and you get some tutorials

 

[Allanmarcus]

 
I just happened to notice that Markertek has the Hirose connectors normally used on MrSpeakers cables. Other places like Digikey and Mouser have them but this is the first time I saw them there.

Hirose HR10A-7P-4P 4-Pin Male Push-Pull Connector with 7mm Male Shell

I just used the crimping part of my wire stripper, and worked the crimp until it was round and the cover slipped over it. Not easy, but doable.



They take a little getting used to but it is one of my favorite headphone connectors. I have never had one fail in any cable application. Female sockets are readily available for DIY headphone projects.

I love these! Best price I can find for the male pined one is from Dan. For the mate to that, some eBay seller in France has the best price I have found. Linkypoo: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIROSE-HR10A-7J-4S-COMPATIBLE-CONNECTOR-NEW-/322046580108?hash=item4afb78d58c:g:YkwAAOSwDk5T~f4I

This guy also sells the 7P-4P: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIROSE-HR10A-7P-4P-COMPATIBLE-CONNECTOR-NEW/321089774722?rt=nc&_soffid=5&_soffType=PromotionalShipping&_trksid=p5731.m3795

I've used these to make modular cables for my Ether C (see my pics on this thread) and soon for my IEMs, just have not gotten the connector for the IEM yet. One cable, multiple pig tails for balanced, SE, 1/8", 1/4", etc.

My only gripe is the crimp on ring, I cannot find the approved tool for that, so I use just pliars and have to file it down until it fits.

Soldering is very easy, get the connector clamped in something with the pin you need to solder up and the solder cup will face up, touch of solder on the wire, bit on the cup, apply heat, add wire, quarter turn, repeat. Lighted magnifiers are perfect for us older gents.

 

[Paladin79]

Here is the circular crimper I use for the crimp ring on the Hirose connectors. This type of tool is used for crimping the ground sleeve on bnc and rca connectors. The majority of them have removable dies and are hex shaped, those will work as well and they are available from most electronic suppliers like Markertek. The perfect size is for RG 58 cable but RG 59 crimp dies will get you very close as well. This type of tool works very well for crimping the prongs on 3.5 mm and quarter inch connectors so they are uniform and round and so the teeth will not penetrate the jacket and short the wires to ground. You can get away with other methods but I like to use the connectors as they were designed to be used and this type of crimper might be $20 or less compared to paying $340 for the name brand crimper.
 
I should be building a few cables today for my Alpha Primes and if I get time I will post more pics. A gap between the crimp ring and wires can be built up with heat shrink tubing or silicone tape. The silicone tape adheres to itself but it needs no adhesive base like electrical tape.
 
Here is a hex crimper from Markertex that would have openings the proper size. This one is a little pricey for DIY'rs but if you look for an RG 58 hex crimper on Ebay there are bound to be cheaper ones available.
 
http://www.markertek.com/product/pal-1317/paladin-1317-crimp-tool-for-rg-58-rg59-rg62au
 
Ebay:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RadioShack-Cable-Crimper-Coax-Hex-RG59-RG6-RG58-/331937756351?hash=item4d490834bf:g:GwIAAOSww9VXhHMe
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-COAXIAL-Crimper-crimping-Pliers-Cable-Tool-HEX-DIE-RG58-RG59-/151247816692?hash=item23371287f4:g:3rAAAMXQEgpTF6n1

 

[SSSN]

I am making DIY Cinch cables using microphone wire. This wire has two inner conductors and a shield. I'm wondering whether I should use the second inner conductor or the cable shielding as ground.
If I use the shielding, is it a good idea to use both inner conductors for the signal pin? I am inclined to believe it's a good idea, because it effectively doubles the gauge. Also, the two conductors are twisted, so it might help against interference?