[buke9]

I'm just about done with this site it is just too messed up. All of my subscriptions are gone. This has been the worst update I have been a part of.

 

[Paladin79]

It takes some getting used to. I am finding newer subscriptions under account alerts at the top right and older things under unread subscriptions in the top right corner as well. Hang in there Buke. You can mark subscriptions by going down to more options in the lower right hand corner as best I can figure out. I am getting emails once again but that took some time.

 

[Allanmarcus]

It takes some getting used to. I am finding newer subscriptions under account alerts at the top right and older things under unread subscriptions in the top right corner as well. Hang in there Buke. You can mark subscriptions by going down to more options in the lower right hand corner as best I can figure out. I am getting emails once again but that took some time.

Much worse on mobile. Many features just don't work, and show unread subscriptions isn't an easy option to get to on mobile. Jude and company are working on making the site better, so it will take some time.

Adding multiple ad-blockers helps too.

 

[Bubblejuice]

So, I just made a 2' extension cable for my Plus sound exo cable for my LCD-2.2f, I've been using the adapter that came with them to plug into my O2 amp, but it was a bit too short.

Everything went fairly smoothly, although it took me quite a while to make last night. It uses the Rean terminations, Mogami wires, it's solid, not too flexible (it's just an extension). It works solidly, but... I noticed something I've never noticed before.

I'm a pretty firm believer that cables don't make a difference in sound, but this cable clearly sounds different to the adapter that came with the LCD-2... I don't understand. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it sounds smoother, less detailed, and possibly slightly more sound stage.

Just to confirm I wasn't going crazy, I asked my brother (who is not an audiophile) to compare both to see if I did a good job, and if it sounds ok. And he confirmed exactly what I was hearing without me hinting at any of those terms.

Does anyone know why this may be happening? I thought I would just sound the same being that they are both made with good quality materials. And they are just extension cables...

Thanks!

 

[Stegosaurus]

Thanks to all for the help! My first cable.

 

[Paladin79]

It sounds "less detailed"? Cables can sound differently, if you can post a photo of the original adapter that might help a little.

 

[keberwein]

Hey gang, I'm working on my first cable build. I'm using Canare-L-4E5C. I don't like the look of the "litz" style cables, so I was going to keep the sleeve on the Canare. Anyone know if there's a paracord size that will go over the entire Canare cable, jacket and all? Would 550 paracord work maybe?

 

[Paladin79]

550 paracord can vary in size a bit but I have used it on that Canare cable before. It can get a little tight but it is doable.

 

[keberwein]

550 paracord can vary in size a bit but I have used it on that Canare cable before. It can get a little tight but it is doable.

Awesome, I ordered some 550. Will let you guys know how it works out. Hopefully I'll be back with some pics!

 

[Paladin79]

It generally stretches to just past a quarter inch. Luckily paracord is not super expensive and if it does not fit, it can be used for um paracord.

 

[Bubblejuice]

It sounds "less detailed"? Cables can sound differently, if you can post a photo of the original adapter that might help a little.

Yeah... idk, at first I thought the imaging was wonky, but then I put a binaural video and they performed equally. However, I felt like there was more crunch to the notes, like the details were more forward on the Audeze adapter, and more melded into the music with the adapter I made.

The differences are not subtle, but pretty easy to hear. Neither sounds bad, I'm just surprised there's such a big difference in sound.

This is a link to the adapter that came with my LCD-2:

https://www.audeze.com/products/accessories/14-18-stereo-adapter

My adapter uses Mogami Mic wires, Rean 1//4" female jack, and Neutrik 3.5mm end (not gold plated), I have it held in shape with heat shrink and a braided sleeve on top. The connectors are soldered with lead-free solder, and I put a little hot glue in between to make sure the leads would stay separate (Overly cautious I guess). It's also about 2.5' long from end to end.

 

[Paladin79]

That looks like a decent adapter so I am not really sure why there would be much difference in sound. It sounds like you made a good sound build though with the addition of the hot glue. Oftentimes that will save you some difficulties if you do not have a really good grommet system on the connector and it can keep paracord from moving around as well.

 

[Paladin79]

Thanks to all for the help! My first cable.

That looks pretty decent. Four wire braid? it is a little tough to tell in the photo.

 

[Bubblejuice]

That looks like a decent adapter so I am not really sure why there would be much difference in sound. It sounds like you made a good sound build though with the addition of the hot glue. Oftentimes that will save you some difficulties if you do not have a really good grommet system on the connector and it can keep paracord from moving around as well.

Yeah, It is a pretty good adapter. I don't know why I'm getting a difference in sound. Is there any way to change it? Or is this just something that comes with the DIY territory and using different materials?

Yeah, for sure. I used some heatshrink to hold the braided sleeve to the wire, and then one more layer over it it secure the sleeve to the jacks which I over heated a bit so it would sort of melt into the grooves of the braided sleeve. Now the sleeve is very secure. If you look closely at that heat shrink you can see the light marks of the braid. This sacrificed a bit of flexibility, but it's ok since this wire is not very flexible all-together with all the layers.

 

[Paladin79]

You can change the connectors on the adapter but I doubt that would change the sound. If there is anyone out there who can actually hear a difference between connectors I have yet to meet them. I have heard cables that can track sound more accurately than others, or cables that offer a different sound when hand braided (could be from a lack of shielding or poor construction) but at such a short distance I am not sure what to say. Impedance is less of a factor at short distances,( under a meter I believe) and that is made up of inductive reactance, capacitive reactance and resistance. Please do not take this the wrong way but sometimes you can go into a test expecting a difference. I recently read where the same wine was put in two different bottles, one was marked $20, the other $5.00 and sommeliers consistently picked the $20 bottle as the better. The labels were reversed without them seeing it and then the opposite wines were chosen when marked $20. You did a sort of blind test by having someone else listen so you were as objective as possible and if the tests were done the same way, there probably is a difference. Audio can be a funny thing sometimes. I also once read where there were some blind tests done with speaker wires where the equipment was totally covered. 7 of 10 people chose some $1.00 cables over some that were $100 up and they were supposed audiophiles. On the adapter you built, make absolutely certain the channels were not reversed and that you are getting good channel separation, if all things are equal, and your diy cable is built properly, it must be a slight difference in the wire itself IMHO>