[Operandi]

I need some interconnects for my desktop setup primarily consisting of Firestone Cute series stuff. Since this gear is small and so close I'll be looking at very short runs for most of it and the cable will have to be pretty flexible. Right now its just the Spitfire DAC connected to the Cute Beyond headphone amp but I'm looking at getting the Tubehead Preamp to stack on top so I'll need to make a Y cable to split the signal from the DAC to go to both the Cute Beyond and the Tubehead. Below is a pic of the current setup.

The Tubehead will be connected to an Adcom GFA-535II which will be powering some desktop monitors but before that there will be an active crossover (Reckhorn F-1 most likely) to go to a custom Dayton RS315HF sub. So I'm really looking at a lot of interconnects here so they can't be too expensive. I really like the look of these FURUTECH but they are a bit expensive.

So far this is what I think I’m going to need.
Spitfire --> Tubehead
Spitfire--> Cute Beyond
Tubehead --> Reckhorn F-1
Reckhorn F-1 --> Dayton Sub (LFE signal mono)
Reckhorn F-1 --> Adcom GFA-535 II

I think that’s everything… It ends up to 5 cables and 18 RCAs total since the connection to the sub will be mono (did I miss anything?).

What cable should I be looking at? I also wouldn’t mind some recommendations for different RCA connectors. I would also like to put some heatshrink on the ends and sleeve the cable itself.

 

[FraGGleR]

There are quite a few threads on wire selection as well as RCA connectors. I highly recommend searching a little bit, as you might find more info than you might here. Also, the gallery thread is great for getting ideas on aesthetics, etc.

That being said, I would recommend Mogami W2893 wire for you. It is of great quality, is reasonably priced, has 4 conductors which gives you great flexibility in the cables you can build (split cables are no problem), it is shielded and damped nicely, plus it is quite flexible. Many use a fullsize starquad, but that adds bulk and reduces a little flexibility. Particularly for short runs, you don't need fat pipes.

Connectors are a matter of personal preference, as some $1 Neutriks will serve you quite well. If you really like the look of those Furutech's and are willing to go non-name brand, there are some good looking connectors on ebay that might suffice. In fact, I found a silver plated one made by "golden gun" that might suit you (2 Pure Silver 2 Screws Lock Male RCA Plug Connector 8mm - eBay (item 180435081037 end time Jan-19-10 03:21:20 PST)).

If you want one stop shopping for sleeving and heatshrink, wirecare is awesome. Not the cheapest, but you can't beat the selection. Furryletters on ebay is a much better deal on techflex if they have what you want, and heatshrinktubing1 (also ebay) has some nice quality heatshrink (without writing on it!) for very solid prices.

Redco.com is a great place for Mogami (and Canare) wires as well as all sorts of connectors and other bits and bobs if you like their selection. Great prices, quick and cheap shipping.

EDIT: Check out this guy on ebay, might be perfect for you if you really want those Furutechs: http://stores.ebay.com/wonderco-buy7...?_nkw=furutech

 

[momomo6789]

Homegrown Audio Co. | pure silver audio cables - Products - RCA Connectors heres so nice not so cheap but great looking rca's also theirs knock off's of wbt plugs


Parts-Express.com:*Dayton RCAGS-LK Locking RCA Plug Solder Type 2 Pair | RCAGS-LK rca plug rca connector locking rca connector gold RCA connector

i love rca plugs but i use balanced for every thing its a hard life

maybe i need to make some and hang them on my wall or something =/

 

[Operandi]

Thanks FraGGleR thats the kind of info I was looking for. This will be the first cables I've made and I wasn't really sure what cable to go with or how to make Y splitter.

The Mogami cable looks really nice, and the price is right. To make the Y cable I would just use one pair of conductors, and for the normal runs I would use two pair for each RCA? I assume going with two conductors per end is mostly for noise reduction?

Yeah, I realize connectors are probably more personal preference than anything else but I do want something that is easy to work with, and something that is isn't junk, looks is in the equation a bit too. I really like the looks of the Furutechs but I'll look around a bit more and am open to recommendations.

 

[FraGGleR]

For the Y cable, use two conductors for signal, two for ground, and then split that to one a piece wherever you want to. And yeah, for just a normal run two and two the whole way. You are right, the starquad is supposed to help with noise reduction.

I am obsessed with RCA connectors to the point, I can't buy any because I like so many

I finally took a chance on some ebay ones from China so I am crossing my fingers. I also have some Redco.com ones on the way, as a couple people say they are very good quality for the price.

Have fun, and don't forget to post pictures when you make them!

 

[burgunder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FraGGleR /img/forum/go_quote.gif In fact, I found a silver plated one made by "golden gun" that might suit you (2 Pure Silver 2 Screws Lock Male RCA Plug Connector 8mm - eBay (item 180435081037 end time Jan-19-10 03:21:20 PST)).

Hmm I wonder whether it's OK to just use the screws to connect the cable to the plug I need an interconnect but I don't have any soldering iron.

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by burgunder /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm I wonder whether it's OK to just use the screws to connect the cable to the plug I need an interconnect but I don't have any soldering iron.

It's definitely OK. As with everything in the audio world, I am sure there is a die-hard camp that believe it is better than soldering (you aren't adding tin,lead, etc. to the signal path). Think of it this way, too: a lot of commercial cabling (coax, data, etc.) uses compression or punchdown. It wasn't until I got on these forums that I found out people also solder their speaker cables. I have only ever used compression or twist connectors and have never been aware of any evils that arose.

May not be as secure as something soldered, but it should work just fine. You could also get an iron and some solder that should be ok for cables for like $15, I am sure.

 

[eertelppa]

Thanks for the links FraGGleR and momomo6789, I know they were directed to Operandi but it helped me a lot. I have been reading countless threads about building cables and the more links available help when selecting what to buy and all that good stuff.

I do not plan on making cables til I track down an olderish pair of RS-1's, one pair went on sale at 4am yesterday and I pm'ed at 5am and missed em :[ and I will just keep doing what I have been doing (keeping my eyes peeled for the perfect not-so-expensive pair) then will start a little diy cables to buy the time and learn something new. I have read all about the controversies of cables and cryo and yadadada, so I am starting to get a handle on things.

Plus I overwhelmed a fellow member, qusp, with about 20 questions and at first he was like woah a lot of questions but I toned it down and he helped give me some solid suggestions and places to go.

In regards to this thread, its really not in my intentions to take this thread over but since I have a lot of questions and this thread is in regards to one of them I felt no need to include this question in my thread (which will come when I am back from my business trip) with my 20 questions or a separate thread. I don't think any of that made sense.

1)Anyway is the y-splitter nothing but a housing? Like the 4 strands of wire split two ways to ear's respective headphone (or whatever for that matter, for my intentions it will be headphone cables)? What I mean is I see some made out of metal, plastic, heatshrink, wood, and I was wondering if it just is a nice way to separate the cable and "hide" the split. Am I correct in assuming this?

2)Also in regards to heatshrink is there any places that will label the heatshrink or custom printing obviously I can investigate these places but I assume it isn't expensive but after you order a minimum of 100 yards or so it makes it pointless.

Only numbered stuff to make it easier for any to-be readers. Thanks for taking the time to help out.

Regards,

austin

 

[jageur272]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eertelppa /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1)Anyway is the y-splitter nothing but a housing? Like the 4 strands of wire split two ways to ear's respective headphone (or whatever for that matter, for my intentions it will be headphone cables)? What I mean is I see some made out of metal, plastic, heatshrink, wood, and I was wondering if it just is a nice way to separate the cable and "hide" the split. Am I correct in assuming this?

The Y-Split is exactly what it sounds. It's where the wire splits into 2 parts. One of the best (and cheapest) ways to do a y-split is to just use the barrel of a plug (I use leftovers, but you could buy cheap Neutrik RCA's from Dale Pro Audio) and use heatshrink to hold it in place. It protects quite well and looks quite nice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eertelppa /img/forum/go_quote.gif 2)Also in regards to heatshrink is there any places that will label the heatshrink or custom printing obviously I can investigate these places but I assume it isn't expensive but after you order a minimum of 100 yards or so it makes it pointless.

Wirecare offers custom printing at a reasonable rate.

 

[eertelppa]

jageur272, thanks for the information, the website you linked me to (I just noticed it is the same one FraGGleR mentioned earlier) is really helpful.

Is there a big dispute between techflex, cotton, nylon, and all the sleeves? I am unsure if I will sleeve or not but if I did I was wondering. I read that one of the sleeves makes a lot of noise when the cable is moved around so I guess I should avoid it. If I remember correctly cotton or nylon mulifilament is the way to go.

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eertelppa /img/forum/go_quote.gif jageur272, thanks for the information, the website you linked me to (I just noticed it is the same one FraGGleR mentioned earlier) is really helpful. Is there a big dispute between techflex, cotton, nylon, and all the sleeves? I am unsure if I will sleeve or not but if I did I was wondering. I read that one of the sleeves makes a lot of noise when the cable is moved around so I guess I should avoid it. If I remember correctly cotton or nylon mulifilament is the way to go.

Wirecare is definitely a fantastic website for one stop shopping for sleeving. Not the absolute cheapest, but still fair.

For headphone cables, cotton or nylon multifilament is ideal since it is much quieter than techflex, particularly for a portable headphone cable or if you move around a lot, as techflex can be noisy if it moves against surfaces. Then again, techflex has SOOOO many different colors and patterns (check out doublehelixcables.com for some inspiration) that it is hard to stay away if you like to get artistic with your cables.

Don't forget that using naked cable is ok, too.

And Jageur's idea for a y-split cover is a good one. I found that some 3 to 1 double walled adhesive heatshrink also works well, as it becomes incredibly hard and adds the benefit of gluing down your sleeving. Then use some regular heatshrink to cover that up (sometimes the glue spreads a little).

This is why I am so drawn to cable making. The sound is ALMOST secondary to how much fun you can have being creative with your cables. All my cables have sounded fantastic, but I keep making more because I am addicted to playing with their design. Need to start selling them as my drawer is getting full

 

[eertelppa]

Thanks so much for the advice. Yeah I feel I am so drawn to this for the same reasons, maybe not so much the addition of sound quality (obviously arguable but there are plenty of other threads for that) as the fun of the project.

I did not want to post the picture as its not mine so in this link and the second picture down the page, what is it they use on the split cable section? This may be a better example I've seen some companies do that, is it just a huge piece of black heat shrink that they heat over the whole wire or is it a really tight fitting sleeve?

I also assume most of their sleeves are nylon multifilament (black sleeves) and the colored ones (red and colored or pattern sleeves) are techflex?

I do not have plans of any cables being portable. In this case will techflex work if I prefer color and patterns. If I don't then I guess I can go with nylon for black and cotton for white/natural.

Thanks again for the help I appreciate it. I think I got everything on the wire end sorted out. I know have a list of about 15 different websites in total for cables so I should have almost everything sorted. This gives me something to do while on my business trip and oh so so so so patiently waiting to buy a pair of pink drivered rs-1's.

 

[Operandi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FraGGleR /img/forum/go_quote.gif For the Y cable, use two conductors for signal, two for ground, and then split that to one a piece wherever you want to. And yeah, for just a normal run two and two the whole way. You are right, the starquad is supposed to help with noise reduction.

Alright, is soldering two wires to the contact points going to more of a challenge? Should this at all influence my choice in plugs?

Right now I'm thinking I really like the look for the LOK plugs from Home Grown Audio (probably the gold ones), I've seen a couple of people use them in the DIY cable pictorial.

 

[jageur272]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Operandi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Alright, is soldering two wires to the contact points going to more of a challenge? Should this at all influence my choice in plugs?

Just twist the 2 wires together and then you have a 2-strand wire

. It depends on the wire gauge. Most RCA connectors should be good down to single 14-18 gauge on the signal (center) pin.

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Operandi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Alright, is soldering two wires to the contact points going to more of a challenge? Should this at all influence my choice in plugs? Right now I'm thinking I really like the look for the LOK plugs from Home Grown Audio (probably the gold ones), I've seen a couple of people use them in the DIY cable pictorial.

Most have a nice little solder cup (even the cheapest Neutrik's) that should easily hold two wires of normal size. You can twist them like Jageur suggested or just hold them together with some tweezers or pliers, or your fingers if you are really macho.

No doubt the LOK's are beauties.