Cable Building

LOL my cables don't look that nice close up

 

I'm thinking about making an "upgrade" power cord for the SW51, since I have some Techflex sleeving sitting around. I stumbled on these instructions for a Bottlehead power cable: https://bottlehead.com/bottlehead-power-cord-kit-assembly/
Is there a reason to use twisted pairs, and then braid? This cable is unshielded. How important is shielding for an amp power cord?

 

Use twisted pairs to reduce common-mode induced (EM) noise. The amount of EM noise in your listening environment and how well engineered/manufactured your gear is will determine whether shielding is necessary.

 

Ah ... when I read the instructions, I missed the part where the hot and neutral wires were twisted (as opposed to 2 hot twisted and 2 neutral twisted). Makes sense now.

Any recommendations for wire gauge, something that might "make a difference" but isn't overkill (for the SW51)?

 

What are people's thoughts on one-sided/directional shielding when it comes to RCA cables? For a while I'd taken that approach for granted, but when I actually googled it, I found a lot of conflicting ideas and most of what I read seems to be on the other side of the fence: a shield should provide the shortest distance to ground for any EMI/RFI it encounters, which means the shielding should be attached to both ends. There were also a lot of claims that this practice was originally intended to prevent ground loops, which doesn't make sense to me, because the grounds of the two devices would need to be continuous regardless of how the shield is wired. Is this just audiophile whackery, or is there any actual benefit to only attaching the shield on one side?

 

You can only do that if you have two center conductors inside the braided coax shield, so one center conductor is connected RCA Tip to RCA Tip, the other is connected RCA Shield to RCA Shield, and the braid is connected to RCA Shield at one end only.

Any shielded cable -- even one with the shield connected to signal ground at only one end of the cable -- will have higher capacitance than the same cable without the shield, so two bare wires is better if you can do that in your system without picking up and amplifying RFI/EMI. The shorter the cables, the more likely that you can successfully run them unshielded.

If you have two center conductors, the requirement is for the outer shield to provide a low-resistance path (not necessarily the "shortest distance") to ground. It can do that with a connection at only one end.

If your coax has only one center conductor, the outer braid does have to be connected at both ends. But that's not for better shielding; it's because the braid carries the reference for the audio signal.

It's less about the benefit of a one-sided connection than about the shortcomings of a two-sided connection.

A two-sided connection works best if both components are designed with proper grounding; if they aren't, current can flow from one side to the other through the shield and generate an audible hum or buzz. Disconnecting the shield from one end prevents the current flow while still allowing the shield to do its primary job of protecting the signal wires from RFI.

 

So I got both the Jamazon ONKODO IP-101G and OEM AEC HD6xx connectors. The red/black ones weren't as garish IRL as I thought.

They're almost identical, except the opening for the cable is larger on the ONKODOs. It was pretty easy to thread 4 braided wires with heatshrink through the larger hole. IMO the AEC connector would only be suitable for a 4-wire cable (2 wires per channel)


As the ONKODOs were easier to work with, I used one set to replace the cheap soft/meltable connectors on the Impact Cable. To prevent the strain relief screw from damaging the cable, I cut a small piece from some hard plastic clamshell packaging, folded it in half, and inserted it between the wire and screw. In order to center the cable in the hole, I inserted pieces on both sides (not shown).


With the sleeving heatshrunk just below the connector, it seemed a bit unstable.


So I heatshrunk the whole thing.



In order to be able to try the cable I'm using with my Clears, I needed an HD6xx-to-3.5mm adapter. So I made one using some of the Norne DIY SPC wire that Trevor sent me by mistake. I was quite please to get them the same length within a mm or so.


This is how they hang on my HD650Ms. The connectors drape just above where the cable touches your chest.


The sonic differences between the Impact Cables 8-wire SPC and @fraggler's Norne DIY Cu 8-wire cable were quite obvious, though I'm sure confirmation bias due to my general expectations of what copper and SPC sound like come into play. I'll write more in the appropriate thread later.

Now I'm working on an 8-wire Norne DIY SPC cable. I'm still waiting on my Norne DIY copper wire from Trevor, and I'm either going to make a copper/SPC or copper/silver hybrid cable, depending on what he ends up sending me. I was thinking about converting the HD800 to 3.5mm female pigtails, but I like the way it looks and sounds so I think I'll leave it as is.


Question: Do people generally bother to separate and cut out the cotton cores after stripping the ends? I didn't bother when making the adapters and just soldered them in (I tried burning them with a lighter but it doesn't really work).

 

I just leave them in. Figured they are basically inert and wouldn't impact the sound nor the joint strength.

And kudos to the progress you are making on building. Nothing can stand in your way other than availability of materials now.

 

I just trimmed them before soldering to the connector before I start braiding. Oh well, guess I won't bother at the other end.

Amen to that... LOL! The delay has given me time to reconsider wire combinations though. Here's hoping he sends the right wire this time.

 

Made my first interconnects to hook up my new Nano Patch+ which replaces a SYS as a passive attenuator. I scavenged the RCAs from a pair of Schiit PYSTs (Straight Wire), used Mogami W2964 coax, and Neutrik TRSes with only tip and sleeve connected (the Nano handles both balanced and SE). I bought some red heatshrink for the TRS ends, but forgot to thread it on before I started soldering. At least the RCAs are colour coded.



I discovered the solder I was using was leaded, so I bought some CardASS Tri-Eutectic. I then discovered that going Pb-free is a f'ing PITA. I think I breathed in more smoke using the lead-free solder as each joint took a lot longer (could hold my breath through most of the soldering using the leaded stuff). And I also ended up partially melting a lot of insulator. Will ask my DIY audio store if they have anything easier to use, recommendations welcome. http://www.thlaudio.com/sodrothrE.htm

Wish I'd read this post from way back in the thread. A lot of useful tips here for noobies like me.

 

Whatever you do, don't lose those set screws. I have a few sets of those connectors, and the tiny set screws are impossible to find, at least where I live. The head of the set screws is also very prone to breaking.

Looks great though, nice work!

 

I still use my leaded Cardas Quad Eutectic. I don't really worry about the lead because I don't solder much anymore and when I did, it was always low volume. The lead really makes it easier. That said, Trevor at Norne recommended me use Oyaide SS-47 when I complained about difficulty with adhesion to rhodium (the devil's metal for connectors), so I would assume it would work well for regularly plated stuff. I will likely get a small roll to try once my Cardas runs out.

Also, I tend to pot my connectors with hot glue once I am sure I have a good solder bond. Gives a little more strain relief, vibration damping, sealing, etc. Best part is that it is somewhat reversible with heat, unlike epoxy. For connectors with no real anchoring or strain relief like the old HD800 or even HD650 connectors, I view it as essential.

 

FWIW, I use leaded solder too. Bought a spool of fine ersin multicore silver a long time ago and just use that for any audio project. I also have a spool of Kester eutectic larger gauge that I use for non audio projects.
I know from work that unleaded solder is harder to work with, and to get good joints.

But real reason for replying was on using hot glue for strain relief. Great tip. I also use RTV (silicone glue). Its also soft and can be removed, but takes longer to dry.
For cables, I'd be more likely to use hot glue.

 

Wish I'd seen this thread earlier...
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/solder-and-soldering-irons.659/

Have a Hakko FX888D coming in, and will go get some Cardas Quad and some Wonder lead-free that the store recommended. I'll also start putting a small fan pointed away from the work station. I'd been holding my breath and blowing the smoke away.

 

Do you connect the side with the connected shield to the source?

 

If you need a shield, and if you need to have one end of it disconnected, then yes -- it's usually the upstream end that's connected.

Of course, if there's still interference you can try it the other way around. And in a system with a preamp, sometimes people will start with the source-to-preamp interconnects reversed, so the connected ends of both the input and output cables are at the preamp. There's no arrangement that's always best for every system.

 

Haha! Another victim has fallen into the pit of DIY electronics!

LOL, I did the same thing when trying to avoid the rosin fumes until I build a box fan (200mm case fan) with some activated charcoal foam filters that was strong enough to suck in the fumes from about 8 inches away.

1) My "daily" iron is a TS100 soldering iron powered from an old (like 1980-1990s) HP 6253 Lab rackmount power supply. The TS100 gets 19V in and up to 3 A, but rarely spikes to even 0.5 A. The only difference I feel between the FX888D and the TS100 is in larger objects or things with huge ground planes. The TS can deliver more heat more consistently than the Hakko. The Hakko is ~$100, and my TS100 setup is ~$45 for the TS100 (no power supply, running Ralim's Firmware) and >$200 for the old beast.

2) Still using that roll of Kester leaded solder. Breathing in vaporized lead at 300 C seems EXTREMELY unlikely. I am much more worried about secondary contact INGESTION. I wash my hands after handling the solder. I usually use a clip or a glove to handle the solder when working with it.

3) I use very little flux for new projects as the flux in the Kester is generally more than sufficient. I do use flux when reflowing, reworking, retouching old joints. Old joints have almost no flux, and the flux from the fresh solder may not be enough.

 

Think I've said this before, but I use a 3m painter's mask these days when I solder. As I've gotten older, am more sensitive to the fumes.
I tried a diy fan thing, but with no charcoal filter.
I'm sure the mask looks funny, especially when I have my magnifying visor on too, but not a beauty contest lol
But I'm not sure you can find this type of mask now, everyone bought them up for covid.

 

These are absolute winners. Holy f**k.

At the center is a piece of Jupiter 6N cryo-treated copper, fit into a sleeve of "True Blue starter rope"... similar to paracord, but doesn't go limp once the interior is taken out. It frays a little bit easier than paracord, but still not as bad as techflex... but is more annoying than both combined because it 'plumes' out as it frays. Around the rope, I wrapped two 24awg mil-spec SPC wires in PTFE (navships on ebay) in loose, opposing spirals; one as ground and one connected only on one end (white stripe). Finished in black paracord and terminated with DH Labs RCA-650.

I'm sure the general geometry isn't totally unique, I've seen cables that were similar using foil/flat braided signal conductors, but was never entirely clear on where or how they were wired exactly. For me, this was inspired by a combination of a standard triple braid, a video on YouTube where someone wrapped two bare SPC wires in parallel spirals around some random wire, each coated in a layer of PTFE tape, and someone who used a relatively tightly spiraled mil-spec SPC ground wire around a straight center conductor (I can probably hunt down the links if necessary). The general idea is that the signal conductor has a direct path from source to destination, without running parallel to the ground wire; and wrapping the ground and shield wire around the signal wire yields the noise rejection benefits of a braided cable, but without the increased capacitance. Also, I think it looks pretty good.

In terms of depth, air, and detail, this is a clear step above anything I've ever heard. Caveat emptor--I've never heard professionally made high-end cables better than BJC, just whatever I've come up with by messing around with random wires and connectors. These are, without a doubt, the best I've heard yet and extremely promising. I'm going to repeat the experiment later with some different connectors (Furutech, KLEI) and conductors (Duelund silver in cotton/silk/oil). I'm tempted to try using the Jupiter cryo copper for the ground/'shield' wrap AND signal, but I'm unsure of how 26awg solid core wires with nothing but loose yarn around them would hold up over time to those kinds of stresses. My gut says not good...

 

Preparing to make a cable for my DCA A2C's. I just got the Hakko tip cleaner/scrub brush thing, after using it I'm never going back to sponge.


I used Canare L-4E6S for the first time, it was nice to work with. I left it as is until the y split and then twisted pairs sheathed in 550 paracord. Neutrik NP3RX-b right angle 1/4" stereo TRS and Hirose style connectors from the DCA website. Microphonics aren't bad, and it drapes pretty well. Confirmation bias tells me the sound is great.