Cable Building

I have also used the "Nakamichi" ones that dBel84 posted. though I can't say the Monoprice ones I have used have ever really let me down. At this point, I'd definitely go for a double screw connector and double up the amount of stripped wire you use to secure the connector. I have had wire pull out when I didn't use just the right about for the "spread and screw" Monoprice connectors.

Great to meet you too. Depending on where you are and what you need, let me know as I am happy to get rid of some of my hoard for super cheap. I would also look into Oyaide for connectors, as they have some some of the best machined connectors I have ever used.

 

Also, though I haven't bought from this seller specifically, it looks like they carry a number of cool looking connectors for very cheap (some of which I have used before). https://yyaudio.aliexpress.com/stor...803.html?spm=2114.12010612.0.0.6f8435d4rPcBYW I would always order one or two extra connectors if possible, as I have received some that were slightly off (center pin was skewed or collar was ridiculously tight), specifically with the WBT clones.

 

Thanks! I'm getting this now.

I can also recommend Bach - Cello Suites- Six Evolutions, Yo-Yo Ma (2018) as being very pleasant.

Ok, I gotta ask. Why does it matter what they look like? Sewell and Media Bridge, and of course MonoPrice all work well.

 

Thanks for the recommendations. I say good looking because my new speakers will have to be away from the wall, so the back of them will be in view. Obviously, function and quality come first, but looks are somewhat important as well.

 

From what I understand, bananan plugs are the best for convienience, but not the best sonically. I use bananas on the amp side because I move things around way too often. On the speaker side I use spade connectors. I think I got some “pure copper, gold plated” ones from ebay. If you aren’t going to unplug the speakers all that often, I reconnect you consider spade connectors.

I don’t see them on eBay anymore, but I think I got these. Note, this is a set of 8. I just used heat shrink over the cable and wire part of the spade, and it’s looks pretty good. Also note, in 2017 I paid $12 shipped for the 8 piece set

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-8pcs-High-Quality-Pure-Red-Copper-Spade-Plug-Speaker-Cable-Spade-Connector-Terminal-Plug/32838936535.html

I probably still have 4 of them if you want them for $6 plus shipped

I’m sure I have some basic banana plugs for the other side of you want them, or just connect the wires directly to the amp if you can.

 

just gonna plug this diy power cord available in bulk by meter.. fat 10 awg with shielding and teflon insulation then a second layer of thicker insulation.. just make sure your power connectors can deal with a real thick cable.. like 8 awg equivalent with all the extra layers. won't go too into it, but I just made one from this and it seems good. and the quality of the cables conductors/shielding etc impressed me

viborg 1606

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Vib...541.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.112e4c4detyL2n

 

Good plugs to mate with the Viborg are the Taiwanese HifiKings:

IEC Female

15A U.S. Male

A bit better built than typical Marinco, and cheaper.

 

Built a cable with my preferred wire in preparation for the mysphere demo. Had some cardas HD650 plugs laying around so might as well burn the cable a bit.



Pretty happy with the end result compared to one of my previous cables

 

Are you sure you can fit the wires into a single 3.5mm TRRS jack? I had a lot of trouble with my own mysphere cable with an 8-braid design. Those sheaths are nice, but they do seem pretty thick.

 

I'm going dual config, I hate the 3.5mm plug but what can I do... I'l use two 3.5mm TRRS each with just one channel and plugging into both ends of the headphone. This is what I'll be using with a couple of changes.


If anyone else cares about the mysphere pinout

 

That would work, but for me it was far too awkward for long term use. Because the cable exits behind your ear, running dual 3.5mm's pretty much means that the cable is going right down your back. That was my original plan but I bailed on it pretty quickly.

Food for thought - if you can find an Eidolic 3.5mm TRRS jack (the 8 or 10mm variant) and file down the entrance a bit, you should be able to fit those cables in a single 3.5mm balanced jack. It just makes life a lot easier.

 

It's a test cable anyway, if and it's a big if it ends up rocking my world and end up buying I'll see about a permanent solution.

 

Made a HD6XX cable using the clear-sleeved conductors from stripped Mogami 2549. Same ViaBlue TRS and technique as my previous LCD cable. HD6XX two-pin connectors are some custom ones I found & ordered on eBay. This time I was able to keep the braid much tighter, as well as twist the headphone cup leads past the Y-split tighter so that there are less issues with microphonics from the movement of the conductors against each other. (EDIT: One big key in tighter twisting was making a pass along the length of the cable with a heat gun, to force the wire to accommodate the new shape, then re-twisting and repeating.) I also remembered to pay attention to the direction of the twist for the cup leads after the Y-split, so they twist in opposite directions.


I had about 5.5 feet of Mogami 2549 left, so I used it to make a short RCA pair with Canare F-09 narrow-profile plugs. The F-09 plugs are really solid and heavy but compact; they were fairly easy to work with, and are a little cheaper than the F-10s. Pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

For anyone building a cable for the Foxtex TH610 or TH900mk2, there are only 2 connectors I'm aware that are designed for these headphones. Sure, you can use a HD600/650 connector, but it's not the same.

The first is the Fututech FT-2PS-F. It's hard to find, and not cheap ($55 on eBay from some unknown dealer).

The second, which I just discovered, is this one from Ali. $27 shipped from china, or $18.70/pr if you get 5 pairs.
Or these similar ones from another vendor, or $30 from LunaShops. Both sell either clear or black shells.

Kinda pricey for what they are, but when no one else is selling, you get to charge a premium.


Sure, I know one can alter the HD600/650 connectors, or just shove 'em in there, but sometimes it's nice to have something that fits "right".

If anyone wants to go in on the 5 pair deal and save a few bucks, let me know.

 

I did a bit of digging since I couldn't recall Furutech ever making two types of the Sennheiser/Fostex 2-pin's. I'm mostly sure that the FT-2PS-F is the same thing as the FT-2PS ( https://www.vhaudio.com/connectors-rcaxlr.html#phone) which is $46 a pair at vhaudio.

I'm not sure that it's the exact same connector, but Furutech's website only lists FT-2PS-F and VHaudio only lists FT-2PS. I have had subpar experiences with the connectors that lunashops uses, and Furutech consistently does some of the the best connectors in the business. If it's a $20 premium, I would 100% go with Furutech.

 

Nope, the f is different. I corresponded with furutech about this. The plug needs to insert slightly more for fostex.

The most I ever spent for connectors was $50 for a pair of lemos from allied. One turned out to be defective, and it was a bitch to get allied to deal with the issue. Then I got some Lemo clones from Ali for less than $20 a pair, and they work great. Spending $55 for the furutechs are just outside my tolerance level.

 

LEMO are great. Pricey, but great!

 

Since there is talk about connectors, I want to give a shout out to the newest HD800 connector designs from Eidolic and Plussounds. They have a screw on barrel, a crimp strain relief, and solder tabs that are so much larger and easier to solder to. Turned probably the most fiddly and annoying connector into one of the easiest and best. Now, the MrSpeakers connector is the most annoying to work with.

 

Heres's my latest cable:

A simple HD600/650 cable made with Sommer Cable SC-Square 4-Core MKII. The cable can be purchased in the US at Have Inc ($0.77/foot). Have Inc charges a ridiculous $14.20 for shipping, so, ug. You might be able to get it from [email protected] for the same price, but cheaper shipping.

What drew me to the SC-Square cable is strand count. 102 strands per conductor to make 24AWG. I don't know why, but that caught my eye.

I need to remember that 18" is probably too long from the connector to the Y.

At any rate, the cable is simple and flexible. It's stock to the Y, then two connectors to each cup, sleeved with nylon multifilament. The connectors are $13 from ebay and are pretty slick.

 

I do wonder if it might still be worth it to get a quote from VHaudio, maybe they can get a pair in a batch order for the same price as the Senn-specific ones ($48).

Speaking personally, the Furutech stuff has worked so well for me, and are so much better than Eidolic and Plussound (which is a custom order from the same manufacturer as Eidolic as far as I know) that I find the cost premium worthwhile. Especially for connectors that potentially run into a lot of stress, you can really see how the design should allow for a lot of mileage. There is a lot of fake Furutech floating around, though, so I would not buy from eBay at all.

LEMO's are nice, but are indeed a bit all over the place when it comes to quality control.