speaker cable for headphones?

[calaf]

[Moderator, I am not sure whether this belongs here or in the DIY section feel free to move]

I am thinking of building my own headphone cable to replace the stock AKG K340 lampwire. Since I really like how Kimber cables sound, I was thinking to get some 10ft of Kimber 4VS Speaker Cable (which I am guessing one can get for about $70), split the 8-braided cable into two 4-braided cables at the headphone entry side and (perhaps with a bit of heat shrink and cable wrapper) build myself a not-too-expensive double-entry headphone cable. What do you guys think? Will it sound any better than the head-fi standard Canare Quad? Will it be to thick and heavy (the specs claim the 8 braids combined are equivalent to two awg 13 cables)? Will it be impossible to fit and solder all 8 braids into a 1/4 inch plug?

 

[RnB180]

what is the guage of each conductor? and material are the conductors?

why dont you just get some small gauge wire and 8 braid one yourself? I doubt the speaker cables will fit into a mini plug, I can barely fit the star quad in them.

 

[ayt999]

he said the eight strands total are equivalent to two 13AWG wires... so with that info you can calculate that each strand is 19AWG.

btw, a miniplug isn't a 1/4 inch plug.

 

[RnB180]

oops misread that!

sorry.

thanks for the clarification.

you may find it difficult to to solder leads that large in the 1/4" plug.

star quad just BARELY fit into my silver plated 1/4" neutriks, the black barrel kind with 4 part assembly. in fact I couldnt even fit two 22 awg conductors, if I recall correctly I couldnt fit the leads in the hole, I just soldered directly onto the platforms. and the diminutive 1.4" diameter off he star quad jacket proved too large for the strain relief and I couldnt screw the barrel fully closed.

I would also assume speaker cables are heavy for headphone wire too.

 

[rickcr42]

you would find the results to be very poor and the cable so inflexable it would drive you to fits.speaker cables are a "fixed" cable that once inserted into the system see zero movement but remember the headphone cable is attached to headphones which in turn are on your head.
Do you really want cable that large and stif hanging off your head ?

Cable guages-even though I use small guage for all my connections there are times when large guage is required and these are all high current applications such as AC line cords and high power/high current amplifier to loudspeaker connections but for low level line level signal I would never use a larger guage than #24 and many times #30.I think larger produces consistantly dismal results for low level connections and the headphone amp to headphones is a low level connection.

The Mogami and Starquad microphone cables make fine headphone extension cables and for cheap too.

 

[calaf]

hey guys, thanks for all your input!
I went to an audio shop and found out, by handling it a bit, that indeed the Kimber speaker cable would not make a practical headphone cable. I am thinking to go the way RnB180 suggested and braid my own cable. Can anyone recommend a brand and perhaps an online source of say awg30 teflon-insulated good-quality cable?

 

[ajt976]

I would say go to eBay and search for "silver teflon", here I'll do it! There is a bunch of people that sell this kind of stuff, and for cheap too! Also, 30awg seems awful thin, how many strands will you be using, 8? I think I used like 26 or 24, but what ever flips your trigger. Goodluck!

 

[rickcr42]

Mogami neglex and Canary starquad are both multiconductor microphone cables that only need the addition of connectors to be a headphone extension cable with good results.

thin silver or copper guage wire is nice sounding but not only a pain to work with but must be reinforced with some kind of covering or it will not stand up to daily use and will have a very cheasy feel to it.

A cheap and quicky cable could be made by purachasing a microphone cable locally,hacking off the xlr connectors then just adding on the new phone or mini-phone connectors and some heat shrink.the results will be at least as good as most of what passes for a high-end headphone extension cord

 

[KZEE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 you would find the results to be very poor and the cable so inflexable it would drive you to fits.speaker cables are a "fixed" cable that once inserted into the system see zero movement but remember the headphone cable is attached to headphones which in turn are on your head. Do you really want cable that large and stif hanging off your head ?

I've used speaker cable (12 gauge) for both IC's and headphone cable with very good results. To my ears the larger wire size gives a fuller sound and better dynamics in the mids. In order to make the bigger wire work I did have to use Rat Shack RCA's for the IC's and a Rat Shack 1/4" headphone jack for the headphone cables - the Rat Shacks have plastic housings and you can cut or drill on them in order to enlarge them enough for the bigger wire to pass through. Maybe the Rat Shacks aren't audiophile approved componants, but to my ears they sound just fine and the price is certainly right.
Like rickcr42 says the speaker wire can be a little stiff at first when used as headphone cables, but mine got much more flexible with time. If you're going to be standing up and moving around a lot with your headphones on then I wouldn't recommend such a heavy wire, but when sitting down there isn't all that much cable weight pulling on your phones and it isn't a problem.

 

[rickcr42]

If that is something you like in your system cool but no way can I recommend others choose large guage wire over small if they value the music and like it detailed.

even an AC extension cord or your IEC computer cord hacked up and with the proper connectors added will work because all wire will carry a signal but would it be a good choice ?

not even close guys.

 

[ilikemonkeys]

I've been told something similar to Rickkcr42's response.

headphones use little watts, while speaker cables use lotsa watts.

hence, they are designed very differently.

I was told to use interconnect type cables for nice replacements.

I'm building a Senn580 replacement with some nice Kimber IC cables.

B

 

[KZEE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 If that is something you like in your system cool but no way can I recommend others choose large guage wire over small if they value the music and like it detailed. even an AC extension cord or your IEC computer cord hacked up and with the proper connectors added will work because all wire will carry a signal but would it be a good choice ? not even close guys.

It would appear that you're arguing against something you've never actually done or heard for yourself. Detail is not a problem with larger wire, and to my ears musicality is actually increased over smaller gauge wires (see my comments about increase dynamics and a fuller sound). I also don't understand the reference to AC extension cords or computer cords - weren't we discussing speaker wires in this thread?

 

[KZEE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikemonkeys I've been told something similar to Rickkcr42's response. headphones use little watts, while speaker cables use lotsa watts. hence, they are designed very differently. I was told to use interconnect type cables for nice replacements. I'm building a Senn580 replacement with some nice Kimber IC cables. B

I hope your nice Kimber IC cables work out well for you as headphone cables, but keep an open mind because sometimes there's more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[rickcr42]

I am not "arguing" against anything though it seems you are intent on your way or no way.
So do yourself a favor and punch my user name into a general head-fi search,add the word cable then tell me I have not tried every conceivable type of cable and some not conceived of by any other human.
I never add my opinion to any discussion unless it is from a postion of experience and not just "theory" and in my experience large guage wiring sucks for low level audio signals.You like it big go for it but no way would I personally recommend it to others and that is MY experience.

YMMV and it seems does

 

[ilikemonkeys]

Quote:

I hope your nice Kimber IC cables work out well for you as headphone cables, but keep an open mind because sometimes there's more than one way to skin a cat.

I know.

In a perfect world, every CD wold come with it's own tailored cable to compliment the system you've built.

The Kimber cable is just another in a large collection of them.

now the Simpsons are back on.....gotta run.

BILL