[Paladin79]

This is my xlr changeover I previously mentioned. The grey pigtail going the amps has dual male xlrs going down to a four pin mini xlr that I use on my headphone cable end. Within ten seconds I can change the cable over to 3.5 mm, 1/4 inch trs, dual 3.5 mm balanced for PONO etc. This is a balanced set up all the way from the dac to the Alpha Prime headphones. In the dual amp configuration I am doubling the voltage, quadrupling the power and doubling the slew rate of the amps. This entire setup cost me right at $1,000 including Alpha Prime headphones, Teac dac, and two Optoma NuForce HA200 amps. On several solid state amps that I own, I am not quite achieving a desired power level; there is no problem now. Cables are all DIY and not figured in the cost of the setup. Neutrik XLRs, cable is all OFC. Also dual volume controls which I inherently like.
Also shown is the adhesive lined heatshrink split I was talking about, compress the middle with long nose pliers or hemostats while hot and the heatshrink will maintain the split. Paracord over star quad as well as each channel after the split.

 

[mgh24]

This is my xlr changeover I previously mentioned. The grey pigtail going the amps has dual male xlrs going down to a four pin mini xlr that I use on my headphone cable end. Within ten seconds I can change the cable over to 3.5 mm, 1/4 inch trs, dual 3.5 mm balanced for PONO etc. This is a balanced set up all the way from the dac to the Alpha Prime headphones. In the dual amp configuration I am doubling the voltage, quadrupling the power and doubling the slew rate of the amps. This entire setup cost me right at $1,000 including Alpha Prime headphones, Teac dac, and two Optoma NuForce HA200 amps. On several solid state amps that I own, I am not quite achieving a desired power level; there is no problem now. Cables are all DIY and not figured in the cost of the setup. Neutrik XLRs, cable is all OFC. Also dual volume controls which I inherently like.
Also shown is the adhesive lined heatshrink split I was talking about, compress the middle with long nose pliers or hemostats while hot and the heatshrink will maintain the split. Paracord over star quad as well as each channel after the split.

Thanks for the photo of how you do your split. Just ordered what I need to for my first try at cable building.

 

[Paladin79]

Thanks for the photo of how you do your split. Just ordered what I need to for my first try at cable building.

Glad to help out. It is not the easiest thing to explain but the adhesive works great in locking the paracord in place.

 

[MR_DISTORT]

Hi,

Im going crazy! Could someone please help me?
I am planning to build my first cable for my new Senn HD6xx.
I have procured Mogami 2634 cable (6mm OD) and I wanna give it some paracord sleeving.
What size paracord (ID) should I go for?
Is it okay to get the 4mm one? WIll it expand enough to accommodate the 6mm cable?
Your help will be much appreciated!!

Thanks!

 

[Paladin79]

I just expanded some four mm and IMHO I believe you would have a tough time getting it to stretch over 6 mm cable.

 

[Returnity]

I'm preparing for my first re-terminating experience and aim for a 4.4mm balanced cable but I need some guidance...

I know the layout of L+, L-, R+ and R- on the plug itself, but where do these correspond on the inner side of the plug where I'm going to solder? And also, how can I tell which wire is which? Couldn't find any info unfortunately.

I intend to try to solder a brainwavz standard balanced cable (with a 2.5mm ending) to the plug sold by ALO audio...

 

[Paladin79]

It sounds like you need a multimeter/ohmmeter and you need to learn to either measure resistance or continuity when using it. On any given bunch of wires, as long as you can get to both ends you can measure to tell which wire is which. The same holds true of connectors. Touch one lead to each connector point and the other meter lead to the solder side of the connector to check for continuity or very low resistance. A while back I even showed a simple circuit using a battery and small bulb that would give you the same results. Meters with the functions mentioned are not very expensive and you may need it down the road to check voltage or current provided you read the owners manual and learn about AC, DC, Resistance, etc.

Tom

 

[kingkikapu]

Just picked up a new Uni-T UT61E multimeter this week after my old clunker took one too many headers off of the desk. Night and day difference in quality. Totally overkill for DIY cabling, but a good all rounder.

 

[Paladin79]

That does look like a decent choice and it even appears to measure frequency. Price in the states is around $50 and that is quite reasonable for what you get.

I have various meters in my shop made by Simpson and Fluke including an old analog Simpson 260 that still comes in handy for specific tests.

 

[Keebler]

This is my xlr changeover I previously mentioned. The grey pigtail going the amps has dual male xlrs going down to a four pin mini xlr that I use on my headphone cable end. Within ten seconds I can change the cable over to 3.5 mm, 1/4 inch trs, dual 3.5 mm balanced for PONO etc. This is a balanced set up all the way from the dac to the Alpha Prime headphones. In the dual amp configuration I am doubling the voltage, quadrupling the power and doubling the slew rate of the amps. This entire setup cost me right at $1,000 including Alpha Prime headphones, Teac dac, and two Optoma NuForce HA200 amps. On several solid state amps that I own, I am not quite achieving a desired power level; there is no problem now. Cables are all DIY and not figured in the cost of the setup. Neutrik XLRs, cable is all OFC. Also dual volume controls which I inherently like.
Also shown is the adhesive lined heatshrink split I was talking about, compress the middle with long nose pliers or hemostats while hot and the heatshrink will maintain the split. Paracord over star quad as well as each channel after the split.

This setup looks awesome! Nice job.

 

[Paladin79]

It may not be for everyone but I like to experiment with balanced audio and binaural plus recordings. Massdrop was running a deal on those amps so I got two for the price of one. There was little work in that setup other than adapting a cable over to 3 pin standard XLR's

. Here is one of my builds that required a lot more effort. I built the cable and changed low impedance headphones into high impedance with a driver change. I also changed them from closed to open and built a headphone rack out of copper that accommodates four pairs. I went with dual controls on the amp, my preference as well as other steampunk features on a converted Bottlehead Crack. On one of my newest builds I am using magic eye tubes as vu meters, technology from the thirties that was probably used till the early seventies.
Most everything is patinated copper or brass, and quartered oak. The headphone cable is eight conductor braided OCC copper.

 

[Demoninja]

I tried searching through the thread but couldn't really find what I was looking for even though I'm sure this has been asked before. Anyone got advice on a quicker, more efficient way to strip microphone cable? Right now I'm just running a knife down the jacket and peeling it off. It works but it's time consuming and a huge pain in the ass. Also does anyone have any recommendations for reasonably priced cable so I don't have to deal with breaking down microphone cable anymore? I wouldn't mind paying a premium to not have to go through this process.

 

[Paladin79]

Are you located in the US? Plenty of people sell jacketed wire.

 

[kingkikapu]

Where are you guys picking up heatshrink? I've been looking on amazon, but all of the kits are the cheap 2:1 labelled stuff. I'd really like to find a good source of labeless heatrshrink that doesn't cost as much as take five audio, MDPCX, bitspower.

 

[Allanmarcus]

I tried searching through the thread but couldn't really find what I was looking for even though I'm sure this has been asked before. Anyone got advice on a quicker, more efficient way to strip microphone cable? Right now I'm just running a knife down the jacket and peeling it off. It works but it's time consuming and a huge pain in the ass. Also does anyone have any recommendations for reasonably priced cable so I don't have to deal with breaking down microphone cable anymore? I wouldn't mind paying a premium to not have to go through this process.

For the price, there is nothing close to stripping the cable. If you want to pay $1 or more /foot per wire, you can get it. If you want to pay $0.18/foot, you gotta suffer.