hey fierce, ya i definitely understand exactly what you did, i guess using male/female would be just as fine of an alternative to that. ive had several people forewarn about doing this as one of my earlier projects in DIY, however at the same time ive also had several people tell me that other than the # of parts, this really isnt too much more difficult than other circuits. i realize obviously the complexity is greater, but having built a few BASIC amps and cables, i think im ready to tackle this as a big project - might as well make it worth it IMHO. i generally find that as long as one is careful and checks (and double checks) everything first, things SHOULD turn out a-ok in the end