[imas69]

Thanks, I did try that but as you said it becomes too hot to work with, I'll have to try a vice and pliers

 

[Cantrell]

It's a LONG post of question and details.

I had to buy a cheap $20 amazon cable (IEM didn't come with included cable). It was a MMCX-3.5mm IEM Ag plated Cu 28 AWG cable which shorted quickly at MMCX. This cable/IEM combo has a kinda nasty harsh sibilance esque distortion/Hz spike in treble that effects many female vocals and nearly all snare/snap/clap type sounds.

* I have some DIY Lavricable 28 AWG solid core pure Ag cryo wire (it was a gift), but I don't think the Ag wire alone is a good match for my IEM nor offer the sound signature I want. * So I'm mainly looking for recommendations for good Cu based wire (Not DHC) to pair with solid core Pure Ag wire for desired sound signature and qualities. Along with some other recommendations, tips, info, etc for other aspects of the cable build that are posted towards the end. It's my 1st headpiece cable build, my experience is with guitars/amps mainly, home/car/boat audio and CB radios.

* I have ongoing sight loss that varies wildly. So I'd appreciate brief/direct posts/links for help/recommendations, etc. Took me 2.5 months for this. Thanks.

* Sound wise, I'm looking to add Cu based wire to pair with solid core pure Ag wire, that will really smooth out the top end sizzle/sibilance/distortion and frequency peak/resonance from female vocals, snare/clap/snap like sounds and some horns/brass, etc in Treble/High Mids that current wire/IEM combo displays. Ideally a silky/smooth more delicate leaning high end with a sweet, warmer tonality, has modestly good air and extension, along with a decently balanced amount of sparkle in upper Mids/Treble.

* Overall, I would like a natural, lush, musical, warmer (but doesn't color the sound too much), sweeter tonality that's nicely balanced. Has fairly decent size and quality more 3D esque Soundstage and imaging with fairly good holographic quality to it, is more open sounding, has great depth to notes from modestly decent deeper black background, has natural sounding cohesion, layering and presentation, very natural sounding note decay, solid definition, doesn't get congested, muddy or bloated, modestly decent resolution, modest/natural dynamics (just don't want music to sound choked), has fairly good level and speed punch when called for, decently tight/controlled bass/sub bass with fairly good levels but doesn't bleed into other parts, good natural pace/flow to music that isn't stiff/clinical nor border on sloppy. A lost in the moment and enjoyment of the music type experience, not critical listening.

* That excels at female and harmonized vocals, all guitars, stringed instruments (classic European orchestra to European and global ethnic types, violin, cello, fiddle, mandolin, sitar, etc), pianos and similar, keys/synths and decent male vocals.

* I listen to a lot of female vocals in wide variety of genres (Katherine Jenkins, Dua Lippa, Broods, Tove Styrke, Fugees, Camila Cabello, Ani DiFranco, to Jefferson Airplane), 2nd most is legit rock (classic 50s-70s rock, 1980s-00s alt/indie rock, heavy/hard rock and Nu & Prog metal), 3rd is a good amount of reggae/tropical based and EDM/pop influenced stuff. Plus fair bit of blues & jazz, some bosa nova, flamenco, country, r & b/soul and ethnic (India, Middle Eastern, Balkan/Eastern Mediterranean) at times... for reference of my regular musical tastes.


_______
☆ Specs:

* Wire Material: Copper based (Unplated Cu, Gold plated Cu, Tin plated Cu, Copper combined with some Gold. Just not Silver plated)

* Ohno Continuous Cast/OCC

* Oxygen Free, High/Ultra Pure 4N-5N purity (or better)

* Prefer Cryogenically Treated/Alpha, but not absolutely required

* Litz is supposedly better, but stranded wire is fine I guess

* Jacket & Dielectric: lower level to nearly no noise from cable movement and static (cable will be inside a techflex like outer jacket).

* Cable AWG/Strands/O.D.: prefer in the 26-22 AWG size. I'll leave strand count to those who know about it. Preferably outer diameter is smallish in size since Ag Lavricable is bit large. I just don't want to have to battle the wires when assembling cable, wrapping wire behind my ears (only way IEM designed to work) or when moving around


. _____________
☆ Budget/Price:

* I'd prefer ballpark around $50, with max of $60 USD (without shipping) for enough wire for 2, 4 or 6 individual conductors of DIY wire for a completed cable 3.25-3.5 feet long, possibly 4 feet.

* It's definitely more about quality, sound signature and characteristics than number of conductors.


☆ Works out to roughly Preferred or Less/Absolute Max Price in USD a foot per conductor at:

* 2 conductors, 26-22 AWG (3.5 each/7 feet total): $7.15/$8.60 a foot

* 4 conductors, 30-26 AWG (3.25 each/13 feet total): $3.85/$4.60 a foot

* 6 conductors, 30 AWG or smaller (3.33 each/20 feet total): $2.50/$3.00 a foot


____________________
☆ Parts I currently have:

* Pair of IEMs

* 1.5m of Lavricable DIY cryo treated 28 AWG solid core pure Ag wire in Teflon jackets, 4 conductors total

* 1 Eidolic SE gold plated 3.5mm male plug

* L/R label heat shrink

* DHC Capsid Y split

* DHC hot adhesive

* Cinch slider

* MDPC Sleeving for outer jackets (2 different colors for main cable and L/R)

* Mod PC finishing heat shrink

* WBT Ag with lead, Johnson Ag, Mundorf Ag/Gold and Cardas Quad eutectic solders

* Probably can reuse bendy/memory wire from shorted out amazon cable


However, I didn't receive the Eidolic MMCX or DHC Cu litz wire from DHC with rest of my order and dude isn't responding to emails since mid January


________________
☆ Parts I still need:

* Top quality DIY MMCX connectors for cable (brand and store. Norne doesn't sell them either and I won't buy from from DHC again)

* Top quality Cu based DIY wire to pair with pure Ag wire (Not from DHC. Something sound wise akin to Plus Sound cables like Tri Cu, Gold Plated Hybrid or Gold Plated Cu. They're finished cables of those type are outside my budget.)

* Store name, brand and type recommendations for wide variety of good quality IEM ear tips (not Comply, their foam sport sounded great with old earbuds, but don't sound very well with current IEM and stock tips aren't very good)

_____________________
☆ Other Questions, Info, Techniques:

* Is there any effect on Sound Signature, SQ, etc and or preferred arrangement of each conductors metal type in relation to +/- ? And possibly number of conductors?
Examples like Ag -/Cu +, Ag -/ Cu + & Ag +, Cu -/ Ag +, Ag - & Cu -/ Cu +, etc. Single -/ 2 +, 2 -/ single + for L/R channels

* Wire braiding techniques/methods/instructions

* Suggestions for good strain relief items/parts, tricks and design/techniques at source and especially at MMCX connectors?

* The pure Ag wire outer jacket is a bit less flexible and kind of thick. What are some techniques/suggestions/tips and items for getting a well fitting, decently comfortable and flexible with good strain relief section of cable that wraps behind ears and into MMCX openings?


Thanks for reading and at help

 

[RestlessZombi]

I wired my Hifiman 4XX to balanced a few weeks ago and they used 3.5mm Stereo Jacks. The sleeve and the ring were both negative soldered and tip Positive, from what i can tell there is no advantage to this way and the ring and sleeve would be in the same location if it were just the mono jack. Using Stereo jacks worked fine though.

 

[Cantrell]

Good to know and thanks for response. I was more referring to applying similar principles & effect as what Litz does. I'd read that for more basic 2 channel 3.5mm source plug to IEM setup like mine, some really liked using 2 smaller Cu or Cu and Ag/Ag plated wires combined for each channels + and single avg to bit larger size Ag wire for -/ground. There's various opinions and "scientific" claims about plated vs unplated wire , so figured on safer side to have separately at least 1 pure Ag and eitherb1-2 pure Cu and or gold plated Cu/composite Cu & gold wires. The sound signature and characteristics is really all that matters though.

 

[Cantrell]

Buller? Bueller?

Anyone at least have any suggestions on Cu, GP Cu or Tin plated DIY wires for IEM use that are lush, musical, smooth and warmer sounding?

 

[imas69]

Surely the wires won't make that much difference, the drivers will be the main thing that makes the difference but for a warmer sound use copper and not silver.

 

[imas69]

I wired my Hifiman 4XX to balanced a few weeks ago and they used 3.5mm Stereo Jacks. The sleeve and the ring were both negative soldered and tip Positive, from what i can tell there is no advantage to this way and the ring and sleeve would be in the same location if it were just the mono jack. Using Stereo jacks worked fine though.

Thanks

 

[buke9]

Buller? Bueller?

Anyone at least have any suggestions on Cu, GP Cu or Tin plated DIY wires for IEM use that are lush, musical, smooth and warmer sounding?

If you want warmer stay away from silver plated as I find them to be bright which I like for my HD-6xx’s and HE-400S but not so much for the HD-700 .

 

[Cantrell]

The cheap Chinese temp cable is Ag plated and way to harsh n brittle top end with siblance, no dielectric with Teflon outer jacket and only 28 AWG.

I just came across neotech gold plated stranded Cu I'm gonna look into, or may try Cardas "Clear" litz hookup wire. I would have gone with DHC Cu litz if not for all the issues with orders and time with DHC.

Yes wire can make significant difference in my experience, which isn't with headphones, but 25 years with guitars,tube amps, guitar cabs, car and boat audio and electrical, home stereo and CB radio. Various aspects can have sight to more noticeable changes, won't turn a moped into a V Twin Harley, but is a factor. As is solder, connectors, tubes, caps, resistors, pots, grounding, shielding, power cables, etc. It can all add up into fairly noticeable audible ,,feel/response ,etc changes but doesn't change the core of item.

 

[Feilong4]

Does anyone know where I can get strain reliefs like this?

Edit: Maybe not exactly like that, but something like that.

 

[subharmonic]

I'm thinking about making a DIY 3.5mm jack to 3.5mm jack stereo cable to connect my soundcard to my headphone amp.
I don't want to break the bank either.
What cable, and connectors etc would be recommended?
I'm based in the UK.
And - is there a good tutorial anywhere?
I'd buy something off the shelf - but there seems to be very little info out there on good cables of this type - even though it seems to be such a simple cable.

Any help greatly appreciated...

 

[Allanmarcus]

I'm thinking about making a DIY 3.5mm jack to 3.5mm jack stereo cable to connect my soundcard to my headphone amp.
I don't want to break the bank either.
What cable, and connectors etc would be recommended?
I'm based in the UK.
And - is there a good tutorial anywhere?
I'd buy something off the shelf - but there seems to be very little info out there on good cables of this type - even though it seems to be such a simple cable.

Any help greatly appreciated...

You are unlikely to the difference between any cable you make and a basic cable you buy at your local store. Just make sure you are making the cable for the fun of making the cable.

Smaller plugs, like 3.5mm stereo, are harder to solder, so make sure you get plugs with solder lugs. They are going to be more expensive. I believe plus audio sells some, but not sure about the UK.

There are tons of videos on how to solder on YouTube. Start there. Making RCA cables is usually where people start as RCA plugs are relatively easy to solder. Are you sure you card and amp use 3.5 for line level? Ideally you don’t want to be double amping.

 

[subharmonic]

Thanks for your reply Allanmarcus.

It's an 1820m EMU soundcard - I've never been completely happy with the output from the inbuilt headphone amp - hence why I'm looking at getting the JDS Labs Atom.
This is from the 1820MK instruction manual.

Line Level Analog Outputs
Eight balanced 24-bit, line-level, analog outputs are provided (1-4). Output pair 4 is
designated as the Monitor Output and is fed by the monitor bus of the PatchMix DSP
mixer application. We suggest that you plug your speakers in here. All the analog
outputs can be freely assigned in the mixer application. Special anti-pop circuitry mutes
the analog outputs when power is turned on or off.

Like the analog line inputs, either TRS balanced or TS unbalanced cables can be used.
Balanced cables provide better noise immunity and +6dB higher signal level. The output
line level can be set to accommodate the consumer -10dBV standard, or the pro audio
+4 dBu standard in the I/O screen of the Session Settings dialog box. See I/O Settings.
The maximum input and output line levels are matched when the input and output
settings are set to the same mode (pro or consumer) in the I/O preferences screen.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Do NOT use balanced audio cables (TRS) when connecting balanced outputs to
unbalanced inputs. Doing so can increase noise levels and introduce hum.
6 Balanced Line Level Inputs (configured as 3 stereo pairs)
Turntable Inputs (tied to line input 3)
Turntable
Ground
Alternate Outputs
6 Balanced Line Level Outputs (configured as 3 stereo pairs)
Monitor
Outputs
MIDI Port 2
In/Out
Connect to
E-MU 1010 Card
(same as outputs 1-4)
3 - PCI Card & Interfaces

Computer Speaker Analog Outputs
These stereo mini-phone (3.5mm) jacks duplicate line level outputs 1-4 with a lower
output level to accommodate consumer speakers. These line level outputs are designed
to interface easily with powered speakers.

The Atom has two RCA inputs, and a 3.5mm input.
After a dialogue with John at JDS Labs - he suggested that best option would be the most reasonably priced cable - suggesting that either taking the 3.5mm out from the 1820M and splitting it into two RCA would be fine, as would using a basic 3.5mm to 3.5mm stereo cable, and although RCA benefits from reduced crosstalk compared with stereo 3.5mm jack there wouldn't be any perceivable audible benefit of using the 3.5mm to split RCA method.
I was thinking though that maybe getting the 3.5mm to RCA might be the most sensible idea - from the perspective that if I use the RCA, I'd be able to keep the 3.5mm port free - in case it was required. I still may go down that route...

 

[imas69]

Could anyone please tell me the difference between the headphone cable connections (headphone end) for the Sennheiser hd6 series and the Fostex Th900, they look the
same but I read somewhere that if a hd600 cable was used on the Fostex then this could cause damage. Thanks in advance.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Could anyone please tell me the difference between the headphone cable connections (headphone end) for the Sennheiser hd6 series and the Fostex Th900, they look the
same but I read somewhere that if a hd600 cable was used on the Fostex then this could cause damage. Thanks in advance.

There are a few differences:

1. the polarity is switched. If you use the fostex cable on a Senn, or the reverse, make sure to plug the cable in backwards in each cup.
2. The Foxtex plug inserts slight further then the Senn plug, so a senn plug might easily call out of a Fostex. This happens to me a lot.
3. The way the plugs lock into the jack are different.

The only plugs I know of made for Foxtex are the Fututech FT-2PS-F. It's hard to find, and not cheap ($55 on eBay from some unknown dealer).

The second, which I just discovered, is this one from Ali. $27 shipped from china, or $18.70/pr if you get 5 pairs.
Or these similar ones from another vendor, or $30 from LunaShops. Both sell either clear or black shells.

Kinda pricey for what they are, but when no one else is selling, you get to charge a premium.

If you look at the part that is inserted, you will how they are different. The plugs for the Fostex have two small plastic rectangles next to the "L". The senn plugs don't have that.