How to make an interconnect Step by Step With Pics

[FrozenGecko]

What size heat shrink do you guys recommend for Canare Corporation Of America Canare L-4E6S Star Quad Micophone Cable Bulk Audio Cable at Markertek.com

 

[Anonanimal]

You want to go a little bigger than the outer jacket, typically...

Canare Corp.: Star Quad Series: Star Quad Microphone cable(L-4E6S / L-4E5C)

 

[FrozenGecko]

thanks for all the great help!! I decided to order the following...

Canare L-4E6S Star-Quad Microphone Cable White
Switch Craft Right Angle 3.5mm 3 Conductor Plug with Nickel Handle and Plug
Heat Shrink Tubing 3/8in. Black

I looked in my email and saw a email from them that the order was complete and shipped. Along with the above I saw this... lol??
[MTK-SLIM] Markertek Slim Jim - Latest Edition

at first I thought it was a

but it turns out its just a "slim" catalog =p Markertek Markertek Catalog - Latest Edition Markertek Catalog at Markertek.com

Also ordered http://www.drillspot.com/products/46...-_PET_Sleeving from drillspot w/ free 3 day shipping. it was shipped the 27th and I got it the 28th. They shipped it from CO and I live in IL, super fast shipping

 

[Anonanimal]

Glad to help. Enjoy building your cables.

 

[FrozenGecko]

I saw in the first post " if you choose star quad use the white wire for the signalsee page 4 for explanation."

I checked page 4, but could not find a explanation. Could anyone else find it or fill me in on why the white wire for the signal? I might have forgotten this when I made mine and used the blue. I'd have to double check.

 

[limpidglitch]

Here.

But it's all bollocks.
The OP should be updated.

 

[FrozenGecko]

Thanks! Glad that to learn that it is all bollocks

 

[FraGGleR]

I don't think it matters much which color you use as long as you keep track of what you have done. In fact, you could randomly wire up one end of a cable and simply use a multimeter to determine how to hook up the other end.

 

[Dean N.]

I've read through this whole thread more than once and I'm still trying to figure out how to use Canare Star Quad (L-4E6S) to make RCA to RCA interconnects. How do you connect the 4 runs of wire onto each plug? Do you only use 2 of the 4 (one signal, one ground) or do you solder all 4 to the plug? Using all 4 seems like it would cause some kind of degradation in signal quality. I think the best answer is to use the two white wires, don't use the 2 blues for anything, and solder the braid to ground on only one plug (the signal or "upstream" component). Sound about right?

Any other suggestions/recommendations/links on making RCA interconnects, specifically on the wiring/soldering, would be appreciated! I'm having a hard time finding information. I think a lot of the links are outdated/dead.

Thanks for any help!

 

[mattcalf]

Using Canare Starquad would mean that you'd have one actual cord for the two plugs. so one wire for the signal and one for the ground to each RCA plug.

 

[limpidglitch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dean N. /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've read through this whole thread more than once and I'm still trying to figure out how to use Canare Star Quad (L-4E6S) to make RCA to RCA interconnects. How do you connect the 4 runs of wire onto each plug? Do you only use 2 of the 4 (one signal, one ground) or do you solder all 4 to the plug? Using all 4 seems like it would cause some kind of degradation in signal quality. I think the best answer is to use the two white wires, don't use the 2 blues for anything, and solder the braid to ground on only one plug (the signal or "upstream" component). Sound about right? Any other suggestions/recommendations/links on making RCA interconnects, specifically on the wiring/soldering, would be appreciated! I'm having a hard time finding information. I think a lot of the links are outdated/dead. Thanks for any help!

This picture explains about everything.

But since the quad has four leads you have to solder two to signal and two to ground. Say both blues on the centre one, and both whites on the other, and make sure to do the same on the the plug on the other end.

You will have to make two of these, obviously. One for left and one for right.

Alternatively you can do what I think mattcalf is talking about, using one cable for both right and left.
That's also very simple. Each plug has two contacts. You have two plugs on each side. That's four contacts in total. You have four leads in one cable. All you have to do is to make sure to solder each lead up to the same contact point on each side. to to to to, I'm tired.

Edit: I used this magnificent new internet tool, called Google, and came up with this, which explains infinitely better what I was trying to get at.

 

[Dean N.]

Thanks for the responses. That magnificent new interweb google thingy was a very good link. (I managed to miss that on prior searches

). I guess there's more than one option for the wiring.

Looks like I'm going to go with terminating each end of the cable with one plug (Neutrik NYS373), using two wires in each cable (one signal, one ground). There may be some increase in sound quality by omitting the blue wires, and from what I've read, 1 strand of 21AWG cable is plenty for even a high-end interconnect. It'll also make construction easier by not doing the Y splits (and the cable is cheap, so why not?).

Any more thoughts on this being the best strategy for making an RCA interconnect?

 

[limpidglitch]

Using two wires instead of one will double conductance, and at least theoretically the higher conductance the better. Wether this is actually audible is an other issue, but at least there should be no degradation of audio by using two instead of one.
The way I make interconnects is practically identical to the what I linked to, it is also a true and tested method used on every audio forum I've been to, essentially it's hard to get it wrong doing it like this.

Reading the following comments on the guide I linked to, it seems like if you want active shielding you should solder the shield to ground on both ends. All my interconnects are un-shielded, and I've had no problems with them, so I'd say this part of the design is a non-issue, unless your cables will be very long and you have a lot of equipment that can cause interference.

 

[vance182]

I only have one 3.5 to 3.5 cable, which is highly inconvenient being only a few inches long to connect my Zune to my car stereo.

I have some CAT5E cable, will that be fine for a simple task like this?

 

[limpidglitch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vance182 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I only have one 3.5 to 3.5 cable, which is highly inconvenient being only a few inches long to connect my Zune to my car stereo. I have some CAT5E cable, will that be fine for a simple task like this?

My main interconnects are based upon some ordinary cat5, works flawlessly.
The only downside of using cat5, the way I see it, is the stiffness. As it is solid core, and not stranded it won't be as flexible as f.ex the Cardas posted above.
However, stiffness is rarely a problem when it is going to be used as an interconnect, and not connecting up headphones.