[doctorjuggles]

^ Sexy looking cable.

Can anyone point me towards some cable making and soldering guides specially for headphones or that relate to headphones? Having some issues doing repairs that i think are related to tiny wires and small contact areas etc.

Thanks

I’d like to see this too. Most guides and videos I’ve seen gloss over the really difficult soldering of the tiny wires and connectors (especially IEM 2-pin) and concentrate loads braiding and polarity (the polarity you can look up) but then speed up or completely miss things like fine soldering and how to get your cable looking professional, y-splitter selection, heatshrinking tips to avoid damaging the cable casing itself...stuff like that

 

[Fat Larry]

I did find this.

It's still not IEM/headphone specific but it's pretty comprehensive. The part where he is doing very small surface mount soldering is particularly relevant i thought.

 

[doctorjuggles]

Cheers Larry.

Does anyone know how much of a different the soldering iron itself makes? I have real problems with my cheapo model when it comes to tinning thin/small wires and that's the most frustrating part of any build I do. Does a decent soldering iron make a difference? And how important are the tips, beyond being good enough to hold their shape at high temperatures?

 

[Fat Larry]

Are there any resources for suppliers or guides to wire specifications (i know its a can of worms) around?

 

[imas69]

Are there any resources for suppliers or guides to wire specifications (i know its a can of worms) around?

Talk to Ian at cosmic cables, he is very helpful and has plenty of wire, @doctorjuggles, the tip is more important than the
iron itself, expensive soldering irons are really for people that solder all of the time.

 

[524419]

I’d like to see this too. Most guides and videos I’ve seen gloss over the really difficult soldering of the tiny wires and connectors (especially IEM 2-pin) and concentrate loads braiding and polarity (the polarity you can look up) but then speed up or completely miss things like fine soldering and how to get your cable looking professional, y-splitter selection, heatshrinking tips to avoid damaging the cable casing itself...stuff like that

Use Flux to solder the thin ends. That is a must to form a solid connection that is not a cold joint. Pre-tin both surfaces.
It's easy once you figure it out. Practice....practice...practice.

Heat Shrink is self explanatory, The plastic will mould itself to whatever shape you hold it to when you heat it.
You can throw some heat activated glue on the soldered joints, and cover over with heat shrink to protect the joints and provide some strain relief.

 

[Fat Larry]

Do you use a fine tip on the iron for finer joints? I did a TRRS connection and a mmcx today with a tip that is like a 3mm wide shovel shape. The mmcx came out pretty good but the TRRS while functionally fine, isn't pretty. Would a needle point be better for those tiny vertical stacked trrs 3.5mm jacks? Also do i just use one wire in an 8 wire config for each positive and ground the rest? I read that is good practice to prevent cross talk on reddit today.

 

[524419]

Do you use a fine tip on the iron for finer joints? I did a TRRS connection and a mmcx today with a tip that is like a 3mm wide shovel shape. The mmcx came out pretty good but the TRRS while functionally fine, isn't pretty. Would a needle point be better for those tiny vertical stacked trrs 3.5mm jacks? Also do i just use one wire in an 8 wire config for each positive and ground the rest? I read that is good practice to prevent cross talk on reddit today.

You want to use a big enough tip that heats the joint fast and brings the solder to the it's melting point quickly. Fast enough to do the job properly and not heat the joint long enough to melt the plastic dividers. I would invest in some cheap practice jacks and get your technique right, and figure it out. Do a few dry runs.

If you position the wires so they wrap around the base of the jack, come in sideways, instead of straight on, you will get a better solid connection, and also prevent shorts. USE FLUX. AND PRE-TIN BOTH SURFACES.
The shovel shape tip should be fine. The really tiny ones are for boards and more sensitive parts.

I think 8 wires will be 2 per channel, and 4 ground. There might be someone else that can correct me if I am wrong about that. But that is what I remember being the case for 3.5 mm unbalanced cables.

 

[Fat Larry]

8 wire is as you say two per channel with 4 ground and that what i did with the TRRS jack yesterday. I have another 8 wire cable with a mic that's done the other way. One wire per channel, four grounded and one is actually not connected to anything at the jack end. Not sure how it's wired the at the mmcx/mic ends.

 

[524419]

I've never wired a cable with a mic, so can't be of any help there. Sorry

 

[Fat Larry]

I've never wired a cable with a mic, so can't be of any help there. Sorry

No worries.

I have to replace the jack on that mic'd cable so i'll probably just copy it's layout. I actually broke the 3.5mm male part by trying to get it to contact properly in my phone.. thinking it was the cable. Turns out the phone's female port is faulty... took me going through three cables to realise as i've never had a female port crap out but had plenty of jacks go. Planning to replace it and learn some pcb soldering as well. Should be fun.

Thanks for your help.

 

[524419]

No worries.

I have to replace the jack on that mic'd cable so i'll probably just copy it's layout. I actually broke the 3.5mm male part by trying to get it to contact properly in my phone.. thinking it was the cable. Turns out the phone's female port is faulty... took me going through three cables to realise as i've never had a female port crap out but had plenty of jacks go. Planning to replace it and learn some pcb soldering as well. Should be fun.

Thanks for your help.

I dropped my galaxy phone on top of the 3.5 mm port with a cable attached to it. It broke the port on my phone and destroyed the 3.5mm end, never got around to fixing it because I just use my DAP. Happy soldering, remember go slow, take your time, practice on an old board if you can.

 

[SonnyMarrow]

Is Eidolic going out of business or something? Their website is pretty bare bones, and their Facebook hasn't been updated in a long time. I've found a few places that sell Eidolic stuff, but the selection is really limited. I can't find the black mini XLR connectors to save my life.

 

[Whitigir]

They are more like from distributor only. Try looking for a vendor who carry them. Fe, NorneAudio, or DoubleHelix

 

[SonnyMarrow]

They are more like from distributor only. Try looking for a vendor who carry them. Fe, NorneAudio, or DoubleHelix

I've looked at both of those vendors and the selection is somewhat limited.