[moonshake]

Hey there, I´m thinking about making my own custom cable for my AKG K271S
This will be my first attempt to solder a few wires, so please go easy on me

About the wiring, please correct me if I´m wrong:
- quoted from a 2003 itza2mer´s thread -

AKG 271's mini-XLR cable, if you look at it with the sockets facing you, it's labelled like this :

* release button
3 1
2

Connected to 3,5 Stereo plug

3 Left
1 Ground
2 Right

Anyone knows where to buy these components in Europe with Paypal checkout ?? (... or maybe from USA shipped to Spain too)

10 foot Canare L-4E6S Star Quad Micophone Cable
1 Switchcraft TA3F Mini XLR
1 3,5 mm stereo plug (neutrik, etc)

Last question, apart from the pleasure of making things by yourself, gear adquisition syndrome, will it be technically worth it?
Any advice will be appreciated
Thanks in advance!

 

[FraGGleR]

Your pin out looks good.

Redco.com has all the materials you need at great prices and cheap shipping, but I don't think they take paypal if that is required.

You can go to ebay for the connector if you are willing to use a generic (I just made a cable with one and they work fine). One thing to keep in mind about the Switchcraft is that you may need to modify the strain relief to fit a full sized quad cable going through it. It may not fit at all. If you look for Vafam sound on ebay they have 3 pin mini XLR's with different sized openings. I used the largest they had and could not fit a 4 wire braid with sleeving through the opening. I don't know how thick the Canare is but I just checked with some Mogami mini star quad and it just fits. Just a heads up.

And I am neither a believer in cables nor a disbeliever yet. I am still experimenting and keeping an open mind, but I will say this. Make the cable for the ergonomics, the looks, the satisfaction of doing it yourself, some cost saving, etc and be happy with it. I know so many people claim their worlds were changed after a recable, but I have made several recables at this point, and I am having a very hard time even telling if there is a difference. I have used Mogami mini starquad, some silver plated copper, and even some OCC cryo'd copper, and have had a hard time differentiating. I don't have the most revealing of components, but even the differences in stock cable vs an OCC cryo'd copper recable for my HD650's are eluding me right now. Not willing to give up on hearing a difference just yet, as I have more materials coming to experiment with (OCC silver and some Mundorf silver/gold). Just don't be disappointed if it doesn't make a difference, but be happy if it does.


Good luck!

 

[regal]

Be careful, these headphones are very suciptable to scratching echoes (microphonics) from the cable. I built a cable for my 271s with techflex and it was unlistenable. Only cotton can be used when recabling these phones.

 

[FraGGleR]

what about nylon multifilament? i agree on the techflex, but i have used multifilament on 2 recables and the microphonics are not really any worse than stock. You could also go naked with some mogami. they have some pretty nice colors of outer jacket. that should be pretty low microphonics as well. just use some thinwall heatshrink from the split to the cups.

 

[bik2101]

yeah - i agree.. nylon multifilament should work fine.. i have listened to cables sleeved in multifilament and there was no microphonics.

 

[moonshake]

Thanks for the comments.
Redco looks good, but doensn´t seem to have Paypal.
The stock AKG cable is pretty good handling microphonics, at least it´s not as bad as my Hifiman RE2 iems cable.
Any cable brand advice for K271´s ? How about this Mogami?
Fraggler, I went to yr. DIY album and the cables are really nice -

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonshake /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the comments. Redco looks good, but doensn´t seem to have Paypal. The stock AKG cable is pretty good handling microphonics, at least it´s not as bad as my Hifiman RE2 iems cable. Any cable brand advice for K271´s ? How about this Mogami? Fraggler, I went to yr. DIY album and the cables are really nice -

When I don't braid individual wires or need shielding, the Mogami W2893 is my cable of choice. I like how thin and flexible it is. Some prefer the thickness of the W2534. I don't know if there is any difference in sound quality. The nicest thing for me is with the W2893 is that each conductor is a different color, making it very easy to keep track of you signals and grounds. Canare is another popular brand, but I think most view the Mogami as slightly better. You can't really go wrong with either.

I think any cotton or nylon multifilament covering will be just fine as far as microphonics goes. The soft PVC that Mogami uses for their outside jackets is very quiet, as the cable was meant for microphones (the W2893 for lavalier microphones), so you could just not use any covering. I think the blue Mogami looks quite nice.

I am trying to think of any of the other webstores I have looked at that might use paypal, but I am not sure if any do. You might search or post a new thread asking specifically where you can get Mogami from a European based store so that shipping might be more reasonable. Also, someone on the forum might have spare wire they can send you (sorry, I am in between supplies right now).

And thanks for taking a look at my cables

 

[moonshake]

I´ve recently bought a Canamp so I´ll need to build a quality mini to rca inteconnect too.
Anyone knows where can I get mogami W2893 in Europe? (Looked in a store in Madrid but they only sell the 2 wire mogami)
Redco has near all the components I need but doens´t sell the Switchcraft TA3F connector.
If someone can recommend a european store with ALL the components I need, would be great!

 

[Hobohodou]

go here for the W2893...You should be able to get a large bulk of it from here...Don't know how much shipping will set you back though...
The thing I couldn't get from there however was techflex, and I'm getting a feeling I may have to look elsewhere for it, but I got cable/jacks from there
They also sell the Switchcraft Mini-XLR connection...not the Ta3f but the ta3fx...I don't know if the cable will fit in though...and you may have to remove their strain relief...

Only just started with recabling myself, just last night completed my K518's, That was my first ever soldering project...and I feel I at least know the basics...so I'm ready to start trying with the Mini-XLR tonight..., So if any of the info I've given you is wrong I apologize!

Thanks again to FraGGler who is a great help!
Good luck though !

 

[moonshake]

Quote:

go here for the W2893

Thanks!
Quote:

The thing I couldn't get from there however was techflex, and I'm getting a feeling I may have to look elsewhere for it

Look here ...they seem to have near all we need except mogami cables

FraGGler helps a lot here, in DIY forums (... and his cable gallery is totally eyecandy)