Just built my first set of interconnects

[meuge]

I just finished building my first set of RCA cables and I have to say I am impressed with how easy it is to make them.

This was my first audio project that involved a soldering iron and I am sure that it won't be the last. The cables I used were Dayton Pro Mic (#100-200 @ partsexpress.com) which are made as a twisted pair that's shielded by a woven copper mesh. The connectors were also Dayton Audio (#091-1265 @ partsexpress.com). The cables fit the plugs so precisely that there is absolutely no way to tell that the cable is homebrew from the finished product, as you can see here:

I used a simple RadioShack 15-30W variable power soldering iron and 2% silver-bearing solder. Considering that this was the first time I had touched a soldering iron in a few years (other than the 30 minutes of practice soldering I did yesterday) I was concerned I'd screw it up of course.

But I guess I did not. I don't have a way to measure capacitance, but measuring resistance yielded 0.2 ohm (+/- 2 ohm) for a Phoenix Gold RCA set I had bought previously, and curiously enough, the same 0.2 ohm (+/- 2 ohm) for both of my cables.

After some thorough listening tests, I have determined that I don't think I can reliably tell the difference, and although at first I was tempted to conclude that my cables sounded just a touch more transparent, I will withhold that judgement until I can get a friend to help me do a blind A/B test. At this point I don't think I can hear a difference, which is good considering that I paid $25 for the 1.5' Phoenix Gold cables, but only $8.65 for connectors and $1.56 for the cable to DIY it. Furthermore, partsexpress were generous enough to send me 2X the length of cable I had paid for, giving me a green light to make another set for a time when I'll finally acquire a preamp. Although the savings are not dramatic (and probably not worth it considering the time input), I enjoyed this little project and will certainly continue making my own cables, especially considering the fact that it's cheaper (and even more so for longer runs), but more importanly much more rewarding than buying them.

And finally for one more pic:

Just happy to share my experience. Feel free to chime in, but if you're going to tell me I did a bad job, break it to me softly.

[Scp53]

you did a VERY bad job .

actually it looks great. You re ahead of me. I ve never made any interconnect cables. someday I ll have to do it but...

[thebes]

Very cool! congrats on your sucess.

I haven't tried any of the really fancy stuff so I'm not convinced they play much of a role in improving sound, but probably provide benefits in terms of shielding. I have tried good quality lower price interconnects and quite frankly can't tell a difference.

Good way to go though and a nice rainy day project.

[consistent]

Well done!

I have been making my own cables for the last 3 years and have even been tempted to sell a few. I did keep some hi-end cables such as XLO,Cardas,Kimber,Yammamura etc to compare in my 'silly days' when I spent buckets on cables. People simply could not tell the difference. Now I use various types of copper, silver, teflon and use various configurations with some interesting results. I use Cardas solder (quad) which to me melts and cools better than anything else I have used. I am able to tell some subtle differences in most I build, all to do with inductance, capacitance and resistance and to test I use my family, a few techo mates and anybody I can grab walking by.

It's good fun and if you let it suck you in you can spend hours playing.

cheers