DIY DC power cables

[asdf1000]

12 hours ago, JohnSwenson said:

If you have an input on the preamp or amp that has a transformer, you do not need pin1 tied to anything, the differential lines form a "current loop" which does not need any external voltage reference to work. Many electronic differential input circuits DO need the pin1 connection.

 

John S.

 

Thanks John. In the case that pin 1 does not need to be tied to anything, there's no harm in using the external wire and tiyng it to Pin 1 anyway, is there? in case I want to use that same XLR cable for a future system.

 

Cheers again

 

[asdf1000]

On 6/23/2017 at 4:51 PM, R1200CL said:

Have anyone recieved a Y-cable with a "wrong" size 2,5 mm ?

(one 2,5 and two 2,1). 

 

I saw his website has different configurations:  https://www.ghentaudio.com/part/dc11.html

 

Did you request all DC plugs to be 2.1mm size? 

 

I think your SonicT needs 2.5mm anyway, so you're fine, no?

 

 

[asdf1000]

Hi @JohnSwenson

 

Is this cable also good for DIY balanced XLR cable with your external wire mod?

 

http://www.van-damme.com/12a.html

 

Starquad geometry and silver plated copper, although it looks to be a mix of OFC and silver plated OFC strands

 

How do the specs looks compared with the Belden 1804A ? Is it capacitance that you look for?

 

Cheers

 

[asdf1000]

Hi @JohnSwenson

 

Another question, when doing the star quad configuration with the Belden 1804A (or any star quad) for making balanced XLR interconnects, how important is it to maintain the natural twisting direction of the cable, for the half-inch at the ends, that's stripped for soldering to the XLR pins?

 

I saw an earlier post that mentioned it's best to twist left (or keep the natural twist direction of the cable I guess).

 

If we're talking about the last half inch at the ends of each cable, how critical is the twist direction of these half-inch ends?

 

Are the benefits of the star quad geometry un-done if you twist in the opposite direction to the natural twist direction? If so, why?

 

Cheers

[asdf1000]

With John understandably and rightfully more preoccupied with building his new house, appreciate if the regular contributing tech guru's can help with this below query 

 

When doing the star quad configuration (e.g. for making balanced XLR interconnects) how important is it to maintain the natural twisting direction of the cable, for the half-inch at the ends that connect the XLR pins?

 

In other words, are the benefits of the star quad geometry un-done if you twist in the opposite direction to the natural twist direction of the conductors in the cable, in this final half-inch of each end of the cable? If so, why? @Superdad @Daudio @Speedskater

[asdf1000]

3 minutes ago, JohnSwenson said:

The twist of the final bit of cable is not important for audio cables.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time from your hectic life changes John S! Always greatly appreciated 

 

[asdf1000]

Btw @JohnSwenson

 

I had some RCA's made with the Belden 1804A with your external wire mod.

 

Sounds brilliant !!

 

I gave those to the old fella (my dad) to use between his HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro and his Sansui integrated.

 

I'm having the XLR versions made for myself. Can't wait.

 

 

[asdf1000]

Hi John @JohnSwenson

 

Is the external wire method for digital RCA coax cables exactly the same as for analogue RCA cables?

 

So the external wire is ONLY connected to the shield wire, and both shield wire and external do NOT connect to the RCA connectors in any way? Or is it different for a digital RCA cable?

 

Also, can you recommend a good DIY digital RCA cable? The Belden 1694A? Or Canare LV-61S?

 

The Belden 1694A has both a foil and a braided shield - which shield do you solder the external wire to?

 

I'm looking to make one for my old man's (dad's) CD player setup.

 

Many thanks again

 

[asdf1000]

Hi John / Alex @JohnSwenson @Superdad

 

Is this the kind of Y-cable that will allow a pair of LPS-1's to output 12V at 1.1A - one set at 7V and one set at 5V?

 

https://www.ghentaudio.com/part/dc11.html

 

Forget about whether the starquad is done correctly here or not (because I don't know how he wires it and if it's done correctly) but this is the type of Y-cable that should work?

 

[asdf1000]

7 hours ago, R1200CL said:

 

No it's not. But it for sure will look the same. As I have one myself. 

Oh interesting, good thing I asked.

The 5V and 7V cables there are identical though, right?

You had different DC plug sizes if I recall, but apart from that is there anything different between the 5V and 7V splits?

 

So the same cable should be fine for 5V + 5V and 7V + 5V and 7V + 7V ? Assuming plug sizes are fine of course

[asdf1000]

On 7/3/2017 at 10:59 PM, Speedskater said:

if I were to add an external PEC :: Paralleled Earth Conductor wire, I would attach it chassis to chassis but taped to the analog cables.

 

This is interesting, especially if somebody already had a pair of shielded analogue cables that they already liked and didn't want to modify them (cutting through the outer jacket and soldering etc). This sounds the same as the method turntables use/d, that John mentioned.

 

Excuse the ignorant questions to follow, but when you say chassis to chassis, do you mean anywhere on the device's metal housing?

 

So for a CD player connected to a DAC, literally anywhere on the housing/chassis? Or are there better locations than others? 

 

Another silly question, but what if the CD player and DAC are both made of plastic? Where's the best place/s to connect these external wires that will run alongside the analogue cables?

 

Thanks in advance

 

[asdf1000]

48 minutes ago, Speedskater said:

I have 2 different views on just where to connect the Paralleled Earth Conductor wire .

a] Near the audio input connectors. 

Thanks.

 

In the case of near the audio input connectors, literally anywhere on the metal chassis?

 

Is under a screw (like in the attached, right next to the XLR connector) with spade/fork connector good place to attach this external wire?

 

Cheers

 

[asdf1000]

2 minutes ago, Speedskater said:

Note that audiophile products don't correctly wire the XLR pin#1.

Thanks.  If I connect it to a spare XLR connector shell, where does that shell then go? The XLR above in that photo is an input - that's ok?

 

And what do you mean with correctly wiring XLR pin #1?

 

With this cable I do know the shield (and nothing else) is wired to pin #1. Do you mean, sometimes it's not?

 

[asdf1000]

7 hours ago, Speedskater said:

In audiophile products we sometimes see pin #1 not directly connected to the chassis,

 

I see, so you're talking more about DACs and preamps and power amps sonetimes not having the wiring from the XLR pin #1 cable done/routed correctly, internally

[asdf1000]

Ghent is really cool. I've had a few analogue cables and DC power cables made by him, based on the Guru's (John's) recommendations. Great build quality. He's had a pretty loyal and happy customer base for a few years, I've seen across a few forums. I would recommend everyone choose the $20 Fedex/DHL option - seems to have less risk of hold-ups and customs issues.

 

I've stayed away from digital DIY cables though. John seems to be really into impedance matching, and for USB cables I wasn't sure about if Ghent's cables meets the 90-ohm USB spec etc etc, so I've stayed with John's Supra USB cable recommendation. And for ethernet, I've gone FMC's, powered by Uptone LPS-1's and with really short BJC Cat 6 cables at each end of the fibre cable.

 

[asdf1000]

16 hours ago, R1200CL said:

New colorJust got got an email;

The black version has been sent from Shanghai ?

 

Which ethernet cable is Ghent using? Do you have the model number so I can Google the specs.

 

Edit: just seen above, the Belden 1303

 

[asdf1000]

7 hours ago, Cornan said:

 

As you can see it is growing on me and I can without a doubt say that it is the best Ethernet cable I have tried in my setup up to date. Strongly recommended! ?

Thanks for sharing Cornan.

 

Just to double check, the cable's shield is not connected to the connectors at all, at either end of the cable?

 

The shield is only connected to the 'external wire' that runs straight down the outer jacket?

 

 

[asdf1000]

5 minutes ago, JohnSwenson said:

Belden 1804A sounds fantastic!

 

I completely agree. I followed John's advice earlier in this thread and made some cables with the Belden 1804a.

 

I used Neutrik Profi connectors for an RCA pair and Neutrik XLR connectors for a balanced pair. Really great sounding DIY cables.

 

 

[asdf1000]

7 minutes ago, JohnSwenson said:

OR add a separate braid sleeve around the whole cable and solder a wire from one end to the other. The sleeve is not connected to anything else.  Both work just as well.

 

If your shield on the coax is foil it can be very difficult to make a connection to it, in which case the separate sleeve may be easier.

 

Hi John

 

Can you recommend a braid sleeve that you've used and would work well with soldering the 'external' wire to it?

 

[asdf1000]

7 hours ago, JohnSwenson said:

I just use JSSG, otherwise known a use a silicon rubber wire to connect to the shield at both ends. I don't think the JSSG360 is particularly useful for audio cables, it does work for digital cables.

 

John S.

 

Hi John S,

 

Just to clarify regarding the 1804A RCA cables with JSSG:

 

the silicone wire connects to the shield at both ends , but the silicone wire and the shield both do NOT connect to the RCA plug at all, right?