[twiseburger]

I have done some searching and can't really find any really info on this.
 
But the cable housing on my Grado SR80i are starting to go. I could just use some heat shrink, but i want a project. I have no complaints of the stock wire, but i also haven't heard them with nicer wires. I have gone through hundreds of pages of the re-cabling and it looks that very few people have any shielding.
 
What the cables need to handle:

• Noisy environment. I work on hardware that has fairly high speed communication (non differential), lots of usb cables (though they should be ok), many wifi networks, and up to 30 Bluetooth devices within 30 feet from my desk. among other things i can't remember now. This is not ideal for hi-fi.
• Want something that is flexible. These are going on headphones i will be moving around a lot with. Solid core probably wont work.
• Want something fairly rugged. I don't need to rely on then for scaling buildings, but i want to not have to worry about the cables more than the cans. They will go in my backpack sometimes.
• Not cost me the rest of my wallet. They are going on $100 headphones, no need to spend another $100 (yet...)
• Only using a laptop or a Zune as a source.

 
Is this a situation where some copper shielding would be worth doing? I honestly don't get too much interference now, but I don't know if the current cables are shielded.
 
Thanks!

 

[squallkiercosa]

My Apologies 

 

[twiseburger]

Quote:

I regret to inform you that your expectations won't be worth the challenge. Please forgive my words but as a Grado owner I can assure you are so wrong in so many aspects that I'm having trouble considering your plan as serious or merely trolling.

 
I am confused here? Why am I "so wrong in so many aspects"? I am not really sure if i stated much that could be wrong?

 

[squallkiercosa]

Quote:

I am confused here? Why am I "so wrong in so many aspects"? I am not really sure if i stated much that could be wrong?

1. Grados are extremely open back for your intended use. I don't understand why you're trying to use them in your office. It would be wiser go with closed back instead but I presume you tried them already in a noisy environment before posting such request. 
 
2. The cable is flexible and rugged enough, and long to move freely around. Usually people complain about how long and thick the cable is...
 
3. Although impedance can slightly vary using certain cables, the difference is too thin to notice, and those headphones can be used with practically any source.
 
I could go on but it seems that your intentions won't be easily dropped by some random comment like this.I do think it's not worth the challenge as I mentioned earlier. . Save your money for a future amp or a closed back pair bro. 

 

[twiseburger]

When I said it was a "high (RF) noise environment", I meant electrically/RF not sound. I do a lot of work when people aren't around, so it is acoustically quiet (when I wear the Grados). I understand they are open as I have worn them on a daily basis for the last 4 or 5 years. Also hence the cable starting to shred in several places, and i have had to resolder one of the conductors already. A cable replacement is eminent. It looks like the ones from Grado directly are in the realm of $40-50. So for that much I thought i could explore making up my own. And like I said, there are no complaints for the original cable.
 
I do not think new cables are going to:
- let me listen to my headphones at a shuttle launch
- make them sound like RS-1 or <insert higher end headphone>
- make me coffee in the morning
 
I do think:
- They will allow me to continue listening to music with my beloved headphones
- potentially give some cleaner sound (which is why i am posing the original question)
 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by squallkiercosa 
Save your money for a future amp or a closed back pair bro.

So, purchasing a set of closed backs or amp would not solve my problem of needing a new cable (other than the fact that they probably would have a working cable), and the listening environment is not electrically ideal, bro.

 

[squallkiercosa]

I accept complete ignorance about DIY cables, My bad. 
 
Here a few link to help you with your task
http://www.head-fi.org/a/diy-cable-info-and-resources
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/71148/diy-cable-gallery
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/142410/diy-guide-detachable-cables-on-a-metal-grado

 

[nikongod]

Start with simply putting a torroid on the Grado cable. 
 
After that upgrade to almost any shielded cable. 
It can be a shielded-twisted-pair or if you want to go all out use a Star-Quad cable with all 4 conductors going to each cup. This is probably overkill. 
VERY few audiophile cables have any RF shielding to speak of. Starquad or shielded twisted pair cable is relatively cheap. 
 
 
 
The torroid will be a bit cheaper. I'm not sure if shielded cable will actually *Work* better, although it should in theory. 
I doubt experimenting with both will cost you more than $30 in parts & shipping. 

 

[squallkiercosa]

People mention Canare star quad cable often in this forum. Try searching Canare grado to see some results