What did you make today? DIY thread!

This Adapter Cable to run a fan off a bench PSU, fan header or Tamyia Charger.

(Did not make this today, remembered this thread exists today though)

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I didn’t want to post this the custom cable gallery since that is now more of a vendor showcase thread, so I’ll post this here.

I wanted to make a “imitation” JPS Labs cable for a Diana. The top one I made using Canare L-4E5C Mini-Star-Quad, (bottom is the JPS labs cable for comparison).

Then I went to town and made cables for my other headphones. This time using Mogami 2893 which is very similar in construction, but has the black/red wires. I went with “Hart-style” interconnects since I like the convenience of switching from amp to amp without having to completely swap cables. Clear shrink wrap is much easier to work with than paracable.

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I got fed up with RCA y adaptors. I have an integrated amp and 2 (sometimes 3) hp amps on my desk. Bought a bunch of Neutrik RCA plugs and 3D printed a case. Now I can run 4 amps off my BF :love_you_gesture:t2:

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Now THAT is frickin cool!!

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My original DT770 mod was a little… shoddy and the jack popped out, so a couple of weeks ago I used hot glue to make it stay in place. It’s much better now :slight_smile:

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Pair of adapter cables
2.1 x 5.5mm barrel plug and jack to 4mm banana jack. First time I used Jamara Silicone Cable for this purpose. Since the individual wires are like hair, flexibility is great.

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I wish I saw this thread before I went and made another DIY cable thread. @WaveTheory are you able to merge/move that post into this one?
DIY Cable Builds

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Here’s the first couple cables I’ve made. I’ve given links to performanceaudio.com which is a great source for buying parts. markertek.com is also great and you save more over there since they offer price matching. Both sites offer free shipping if buy $20-$25 worth of stuff.

For the cable, I went with Canare’s 20 AWG speaker cable. I’ve never seen anyone recommend this cable for headphone applications. Almost always, star quad mic cable gets recommended instead (which is 24-26 AWG usually). To me, it makes way more sense to use this thicker gauge power cable rather than shielded signal cable. The cable worked well in the end. Though it did have a couple issues. 1) it was too thick for 1/4" plug so I partially broke the plastic cable clamp to make it fit. 2) the wire insulation melts easily. You can mitigate that by stripping half of much insulation you normally would and let it melt back when you tin the wires (or use heat shrink to minimize exposed wire).

For the connectors, I went all black, gold-plated Neutrik. If you’ve never soldered to these connectors before, be sure to look at videos and maybe order extra connectors as well. Your first attempt probably won’t be pretty lol.

4 Pin XLR to 1/4", 6 ft extension

Neutrik NC4FXX-B Female 4-Pin XLR $6.08
Neutrik NP3X-B Professional 1/4" TRS Stereo Phone Plug, $6.06
Canare 4S6 Star Quad Speaker Cable, 20AWG, 6 ft, $1.86

4 Pin XLR extension

Neutrik NC4FXX-B Female 4-Pin XLR $6.08
Neutrik NC4MXX-B Male 4-Pin XLR Cable Connector, $4.60
Canare 4S6 Star Quad Speaker Cable, 20AWG, 6 ft, $1.86

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How’s that?

Perfect. Thanks

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Making some RCA cables.

From my research, the cheapest RCA connectors you’d probably want to use are the Rean’s pictured below (excluding Aliexpress). Honestly, I like to the look of them more than most of the other more expensive connectors lol. Though they’re a pain to work with since you have to be very precise with all your cut lengths. You also need to take care to crimp them well to prevent cable from slipping out.
Another great connector option is the NYS373. World’s best cables have a version of this exact cable using that connector ($18 for 1ft).

For cable, I went with Canare’s starquad mic cable. 4 conductor, braided shield cable is pretty overkill for my needs. But the cable’s cheap so why not lol. It’s very flexible and Unlike the Canare speaker cable I used before, the wire insulation didn’t melt at all when soldered.

Rean NYS352BG RCA Plug, $1.35
Rean NYS352G RCA Plug, $1.25
Canare L-4E6S Star-Quad Microphone Cable, $0.59 per foot
Rean NYS373-2 RCA Plug, $1.80

Two Rean connector options:

I found the best way to hold the connector in place was to use another female connector along with a hobby clamp. Normally you’d twist up and solder the shield. But I couldn’t do that neatly at all with this connector. So I settled on crimping it as shown.

I wired them up the same way WBC does their cables. Having the shield connected on one end only of a signal cable is standard practice in industrial applications. Although which side the shield is connected to doesn’t matter AFAIK.

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Made a belt out of a spare Monoprice XLR cable I had lying around and paracord wrapped it. I love it lol.

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Making some more RCA cables. I used the blue Canare L-4E6S starquad cable this time.
These cheap AliExpress connectors turned out to be exceptionally good for the price. They’ve got a solid build and come with grommets for small diameter cable. The budget Rean’s (bottom picture) don’t come with any grommets and cost twice as much. But they arguably have the better clamp style. The AliExpress one has the same kind of clamp Monoprice’s cheap Coax RCAs use.

AliExpress QUEYINFANG RCA connectors, $0.62
Rean NYS352BG RCA Plug, $1.35
Rean NYS352G RCA Plug, $1.20
Canare L-4E6S Star-Quad Microphone Cable, $0.48 per foot

AliExpress connectors

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And I also recently finished my HE-6se cable. I nearly lost my sanity doing those two 4-wire braids lol. Total cost was about $25.

If your buying the same 3.5mm Rean connectors I used for another HE-6se, make sure they’re the current rev which has the extended jack. Though I imagine there’s hardly any old ones floating around considering how popular these are for DIY cables.
The splitter I used worked great except that it has has a slot instead of two separate wire holes. I used heat shrink to ensure it never slides down the cable.

BOM
2X Neutrik Rean NYS226BG 3.5mm Mono, $1.33
Neutrik NC4MXX-B Male 4-Pin XLR, $4.60
AliExpress 8-Wire Prebraided cable, $10 for 5m
AliExpress Cable Splitter, $3.77


Here’s a photo with them connected. The Rean connectors look a bit bulky on them. Is anyone knows of a good, more compact alternative, let me know.

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Those cheap rean connectors are awesome. I’ve used them in a car audio system and even with my crappy soldering skills they have held up really really well.

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SMPS Filter
$10

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DT 1990 drop in balanced jack




Edit: made a v2 to clean up the leads a bit:

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Ok so silly project. Had a Burson v6 Vivid sitting collecting dust and decided to put it into a douk u3 amplifier ($35-40) and holy fuckballs. Turned this thing into a bass cannon amp. It’s rated at ~1.3w@32ohm (class A though!) and it drives like it. Clarity and bass authority shot up so hard it blew my mind.

Barely fit and took lots of shaping on the little flex cable and had to bend some stuff slightly


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I assembled an acoustic treatment panel in my speaker room!

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Those Stellia hanging there out front?