We have a thread for purchases, a thread for returns…
how about a thread for things we made ourselves? 
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I made a cable today!
Balanced Mini XLR => 2 x 3.5mm
I used some bulk 26 AWG 4 conductor cable, a 4-pin mini XLR female jack, 2 really nice 3.5mm male jacks and some electrical tape. All cables soldered on the connectors. I ended up splitting the cable in half and driving two full cables, once to each 3.5mm plug. In retrospect, I should have bought some 2 conductor cable for those parts, but it’s all right. This was mostly training for my upcoming DT 770 mods.
Tested the cable on the balanced BTR5 output, using Hart’s 2.5mm cable. Sounds great! Now I can use my Sundara with all the other Hart Cables I have, yay.
Soldering the 3.5mm ends was very easy. The mini XLR was a pain, but I also started with it, and I was very rusty (hadn’t soldered anything in a few years). Next time I’ll do better. Sorry, no photos of the XLR, I had to tape it since the cable wouldn’t fit through the back of the connector so I can’t re-open it.
I initially thought I screwed up, because the right channel was breaking up, but it turned out to be the Hart Cable -.- I taped it into an angle and it’s working fine now 
I’ll ask Hart for a replacement, I just got this a couple of days ago.
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DIY Headphone Stand
Got the idea after seeing @FBizzle’s post.
I also wanted the base big enough so I could put my Atom Dac/Amp on it.
- (1) 1/2" floor flange
- (1) 1/2" x 12
- (1) 1/2" x 8
- (1) 1/2" 90 elbow
- (1) 3/4’ pipe insulation
- base (I had wood laying around that I used)
- screws
*ps: Too lazy to paint the base. I’ll paint it eventually. 
There’s enough room for two headphones.
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Nice! Balanced mini XLR like the 177x Go?
I posted this over at “what did u buy today”…but then I saw this DIY thread:
Well I bought 12 ft of Canare cable, a set of Rean connectors and a 4 pin male XLR and some Tech Flex and this is what happend after an hour of work:
Relatively easy to make…and you can make the Y split to any size that makes you happy with…
…and only $40! Includes tax and shipping!
These are for HEDD’s…onlyused six feet, going to build a set of balanced for my HD600s.
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Yes!
Allows me to tap into BTR5’s full power 
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Spent the day building this pull-out desk extension so that my desk now has room for bigger speakers and more gear.
(No, that is not a pleasure stain on my mousemat. It is actually a burn mark from when one of my speakers caught on fire last year.)
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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 
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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
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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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