How to make an interconnect Step by Step With Pics

[leeperry]

alright, I've ordered some cardas quad solder, some black nylon sleeving and a light gray neutrik boot(to match w/ my 770 ear pads

)

I'll let you guys know how that goes!

maybe noone has a definitive answer to offer me, but I've soldered 2 wires from my quad cable to the common ground in the phones.....would that make any sense to wire them separately in the phones? it's unbalanced so I don't think it matters at all

 

[ruZZ.il]

I can think of very marginal 'more sense' to solder them together on the phone..

Imagine a purely stereo signal. Lets just say, a purely LEFT signal, (Right=0). In this case, the left driver receives a signal through a single wire, and returns it through 2 wires. the return path resistance is lower.

If the signal is purely mono, then left=right. the same signal comes in through each signal wire, and returns either:
Left through the left ground and right through the right ground (1 signal per ground)
or (Left and right) through the double ground. (2 signals per 2 grouns) (both pretty much the same thing)

So, to a mono signal, there is *very little* difference in your 2 wiring options.

To a stereo signal, the difference is larger as the difference between signals is larger.


*very little: There is a skin effect. a phenomenon that causes most of the current to travel closer to the surface of the wire, which changes with frequency. (at very high frequencies, for instance, a solid core cable acts just like a pipe would.. you may as well use a hollow core cable ) This effects resistance at different frequencies. if you have a doubled up return path for longer, you effectively have a larger surface area, and are less effected by the skin effect.

so, there's that difference at least, showing some favor to doubling up on the ground all the way from the phones. There are possibly detrimental effects though, like increasing capacitance or something.. I dunno..

I think the way you've done it is fine for now. I'd worry about it more when you have a serious amp or something.. unless you go balanced by then

 

[leeperry]

hehe ok, agreed...it's uber-nitpicking

I'm still pretty impressed by how accurate the new cable has got my 770Pro/250(same drivers as the 770 consumer)

I'm often getting static on voices now, mostly I'm hearing how crappy their Shure SM58 mics were in the first place

if they were too cheap to go Neuman U87, these phones will let you hear it

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hayduke /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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.

actually silver solder has a higher melting point; I use it for everything except really fine SMD as cardas only make the one gauge. I have been using WBT lately too, which does have a lower melting point, not sure of the mix with that except there is def silver in it. has flux core too which is handy. seems to have more flux than cardas, which i'm not sure actually has any, but I use the cardas flux paste with pretty much everything; I just put a dab on both parts after tinning, then if you are soldering connectors and cant stay too long ie. cant heat the part and apply solder to that, then with flux on both parts and a dab of solder it takes no time to form a joint. I use silver solder just because i'm IMO giving the gear its best chance; its about synergy as we know so whether I can hear a really noticeable difference between solders doesnt bother me because I know that the finished result is gonna sound the way it should.

leeperry:
I dont know where you got your info on mixing wires and gauges being a bad idea??? some stranded wire eg. XLO, some cardas, oyiade and some vampire (probably many more) is made from strands of varying thicknesses not prepared cable but wire; in fact not a small proportion of all of the stock at percyaudio.com is multigauge. Even nikongod, who is very knowledgeable, but also seems very skeptical of what I guess he would call 'smoke and mirrors' uses a larger gauge on ground/return than signal if possible. OH and litz = not vulnerable at all and quite practical IMO; also less microphonic than all but multifilament; or dont you use any cover at all on you starquad or whatever??

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif leeperry: I dont know where you got your info on mixing wires and gauges being a bad idea??? some stranded wire eg. XLO, some cardas, oyiade and some vampire (probably many more) is made from strands of varying thicknesses not prepared cable but wire; in fact not a small proportion of all of the stock at percyaudio.com is multigauge. Even nikongod, who is very knowledgeable, but also seems very skeptical of what I guess he would call 'smoke and mirrors' uses a larger gauge on ground/return than signal if possible. OH and litz = not vulnerable at all and quite practical IMO; also less microphonic than all but multifilament; or dont you use any cover at all on you starquad or whatever??

ok ok, I'm n00bish....I was just reporting what I read while running searches, some ppl said that mixing copper/SPC/silver was pretty darn hard to "stabilize".

well my Real cable OFC quad has a very thick rubber sleeve, and I will add nylon sleeving on top of it...I mostly use my 770 on my sound card when sitting in front of the PC, so I ain't too worried about microphonics

 

[thedips]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashmedai /img/forum/go_quote.gif Damn. I'm going to have to try that stuff; it looks interesting.

YES! by all means... i just finshed my 1st cable as posted it in the cable thread... i did so much research before actually soldering anything.. just watching eutectic solder go from liquid to hard instantaneous is just amazing on its own... and the solder is super shiny ....



Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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 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

thank you for the advice here... im just hesitant to use spc because a brighter sound isnt what im actually looking for... i think ill stick to just very high quality pure coper... possibly stranded vampire wire for my next build... maybe ill do spc interconnects.... but then im still thinking about which amp and dac to go with ....

so lots to still think about...

 

[Good Times]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif there is a place in brisbane that sells starquad separately. i'll post a link tomorrow once I dig it out. cant remember the name ATM but I have it saved somewhere.

I know it's a bit old, but these guys sell starquad for $4pm in Oz. Custom Audio Cables

Also, the Jaycar quad cable is imo identical, with the benefit of having 4 different colours making channel selection easier at the other end!

 

[leeperry]

woohah, this cardas solder is quite a blast

170C fusion point, very easy to solder as it goes from liquid to hard in a second....thanks for the advice fellas!

 

[Baird GoW]

Any body know how to make one of the following or even where to buy a nice: optical, digital coaxial, or USB for me to connect my prelude (or my computer if its via usb) to my Audio GD Compass (DAC).
Also are are any of those better than the other for audio.

 

[leeperry]

hummmm I've just bought a consumer DT770, and the stock cable is so light that I almost have the feeling that it's wireless

my 10ft Real Cable OFC had a very thick and heavy 1/4" rubber sleeve that made it rather annoying to use

I've read that some ppl didn't like SPC coz it was too bright, and I like the sound of the Real Cable OFC anyway...so I've stripped the rubber sleeve :



added a black nylon sleeve, a neutrik 1/4 and here we go :

 

[thedips]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif woohah, this cardas solder is quite a blast 170C fusion point, very easy to solder as it goes from liquid to hard in a second....thanks for the advice fellas!

ur welcome!

 

[Netdewt]

I tried looking through this thread, but it's just so huge. Possibly stupid questions:

1. With RCA-RCA interconnects, is it best to have a 4-conductor wire, with a Y at both ends, or just have two 2-conductor wires?

2. Is there a recommended wire for the 2-conductor? I'm not sure where to look.

3. Also, is it shown anywhere how to do the Y split?

 

[Netdewt]

Okay, more.

Are speaker cables and interconnects pretty much the same to make? I'm assuming I'll have banana jacks (not sure how that all works yet, I'll wait to make these cables until I have my stuff). The RCA plugs were easy to find, but I can't seem to find any info about speaker terminations. I'm looking for good brands, materials, attachment method etc. Also, with the Canare 4S11, since there are 4 conductors, would I just join them at the ends for a standard (not bi-wired) cable?

 

[ILAMtitan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Netdewt /img/forum/go_quote.gif Okay, more. Are speaker cables and interconnects pretty much the same to make? I'm assuming I'll have banana jacks (not sure how that all works yet, I'll wait to make these cables until I have my stuff). The RCA plugs were easy to find, but I can't seem to find any info about speaker terminations. I'm looking for good brands, materials, attachment method etc. Also, with the Canare 4S11, since there are 4 conductors, would I just join them at the ends for a standard (not bi-wired) cable?

Speaker cables and interconnects are not really interchangeable as far as the wire goes. Interconnects are typically low volt, low current lines.
Your normal speaker will draw far more current over the line, and subsequently require a wire that can handle it. As far as termination, this depends on your setup. The amp and speakers may even have different physical connections that you will have to build for. I've seen many with banana jacks, some with the screw posts, and others just crimp down on the wire. Your best bet would be to find out what kind of power you need, and jacks, then go from there. For a lot of my home theater stuff, I've had success ordering from Parts-Express, but someone else here may have a better source.

 

[PascalT]

Is anyone here offering their services to build Sennheiser cables? If so I'd like to know more about it. I'm looking to upgrade from the stock cable but not at "retail prices".

pm me!