[ashmedai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedips /img/forum/go_quote.gif unless its cardas quad eutectic solder

Damn. I'm going to have to try that stuff; it looks interesting.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedips /img/forum/go_quote.gif unless its cardas quad eutectic solder

the 3% silver solder I tried was : "Sn96,5 Ag3 Cu0,5" and lead free(RoHS)....I thought it refused to stick to the 1/4 gold neutrik coz my iron wasn't hot enough(even though it did melt).

do you think it's because its "formula" isn't accurate for gold contact....and that the cardas would work

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedips /img/forum/go_quote.gif what effects do you get when you mix the diferent properties of wire when making your connectors like mixing (OFC / COPPER PLATED SILVER / SILVER WIRE) for ground and signal or using different AWG for signal ground....???

I've run many searches on the forum, ppl advise against it.....copper is warmer(I agree) and the better quality it is the warmer it gets, and apparently silver is bright...prolly SPC is your best option, but I personally like very thick rubber sleeved cables, the leitz cables on ALOAUDIO look terrible.....and prolly rather annoying in everyday's life

 

[ashmedai]

Lee, were you heating the solder or the contact?

Also if that's not a eutectic blend (I don't recognize that blend since I haven't messed with copper-bearing solders much) then get one that is...eutectic = major win.

 

[leeperry]

first I melted the solder on the iron, then I heated the solder w/ the wire in its final location....and it refused to stick, my cheapo "SN60PB" mix did work right away.

I might consider redoing the whole thing with :
-Cardas solder
-using the cable in the direction shown by the arrows >>>> on its sleeve
-not connecting the OFC shielding braid on either sides(it's connected to the 1/4 TRS ground at this point)
-using split grounds in the phones, and not common

the question is : will that make ANY audible difference at all

 

[ashmedai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif then I heated the solder w/ the wire in its final location

I'm pretty sure that whenever possible you should apply heat to the thing you're trying to solder, not to the solder itself. But I'm strictly amateur-hour at this still, so maybe someone else can confirm?

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashmedai /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm pretty sure that whenever possible you should apply heat to the thing you're trying to solder, not to the solder itself. But I'm strictly amateur-hour at this still, so maybe someone else can confirm?

I pre-applied some solder on the wires, it worked fine w/ my cheapo solder....prolly my 3% silver solder isn't meant to be soldered on gold ?! I dunno

 

[Hayduke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashmedai /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm pretty sure that whenever possible you should apply heat to the thing you're trying to solder, not to the solder itself. But I'm strictly amateur-hour at this still, so maybe someone else can confirm?

You're right. Soldering a headphone jack however is one of the situations where you might want to bend the rules a little. Some connectors have a poor dielectric that melts too easily, so you have to minimize the amount of time you apply heat. By putting the solder on the iron and then touching the part, you actually get better heat transfer because the surface area that is in contact increases. This can work well to minimize the time it takes to make the joint.

There are a couple main reasons you want to apply heat to the part and let the part melt the solder. First, solder is attracted to heat, so it's hard to get it off the iron if it starts there. The other main reason is the fluxes will burn off very quickly so you may get a poorer joint if you put the solder on the iron first. By the time you try to transfer the solder to the parts, the flux is already gone and you are dealing with the first problem.

Something that can't be stressed enough around here... if it sounds good to you, then just enjoy it

 

[leeperry]

apparently, silver solder was not created to improve the audio quality....but simply because SN60PB didn't cope with soldering on silver too well :
Welborne Labs Solder

Quote:

We are not 100% convinced that a silver-bearing solder actually makes an audible improvement over a nonsilver-bearing solder. In fact, some of the solders currently marketed as audiophile grade don’t even contain silver

and my SN60PB would be a good choice for audio :

HeadWize: DIY Workshop > Solder wire

Quote:

60% Tin & 40% Lead is the type that is commonly used for electronic work.

and apparently everyone advises to connect the shielding braid to the 1/4 connector ground only....

I think I'll leave it as it is

 

[Hayduke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif and my SN60PB would be a good choice for audio : HeadWize: DIY Workshop > Solder wire 60% Tin & 40% Lead is the type that is commonly used for electronic work.

You definitely want a eutectic blend solder. There are several formulations that are eutectic, but I don't think 60/40 tin/lead is one of them.

 

[ashmedai]

The Sn/Pb eutectic blend is 63/37.

60/40 is cheap, and that's pretty much all it has going for it.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hayduke /img/forum/go_quote.gif You definitely want a eutectic blend solder. There are several formulations that are eutectic, but I don't think 60/40 tin/lead is one of them.

I will order some Cardas anyway, but do you think resoldering the neutrik 1/4 would even matter ? like the SQ improvement woud be audible ?

the headphones output in my soundcard is most likely using 60/40 anyhow

 

[ashmedai]

Soldering generally only has a SQ impact if you screw up.

The point of eutectic alloys is that the temperature band at which it liquefies is very narrow. This means that it melts very quickly when the right temperature is reached (to which end, you set your iron appropriately if possible) and then it resolidifies quickly as it cools.

 

[Juaquin]

Yes, the idea of eutectic is that it goes immediately from solid to liquid and back - there is no pasty stage in between, which reduces the chances of causing a cold joint. 63/37 is good but I prefer 62/36/2 (silver).

 

[ashmedai]

62/36/2 is supposedly helpful for SMD work. I haven't done any of that yet, but Tangent says so, and he usually knows what's what.

 

[Hayduke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif the headphones output in my soundcard is most likely using 60/40 anyhow

Maybe, but it doesn't matter if that is eutectic or not. The advantage of eutectic blends is for hand soldering. You're sound card was manufactured using a method where the parts did not move, so there was no chance of spoiling the bond during the "pastey" stage mentioned above.

Having worked in SMD manufacturing, I'm not 100% sure why 62/36/2 would be better. I suspect it has a lower melting point. The goal with SMD reflowing was always to get the board "just hot enough" to make good joints.