Balanced XLR to RCA Cable

Balanced XLR interconnects are what many people consider to be a superior connection between components. Typically found in Pro-audio equipment, they feature three wires rather than the two in an unbalanced RCA interconnect. The three wire system includes hot, neutral and ground. Current flows through the hot and neutral with both an inverted and non-inverted version of the signal. The component only needs to sense the difference between the two signals which assists in rejecting common noise. Common noise includes RF and ground loops, both of which can be quite annoying.

Some higher-end components have taken notice that balanced XLR interconnects can be more ideal and include them as optional inputs and/or outputs. Unfortunately there are many components that do not offer them, so you may end up with a component with XLR outputs and another with only RCA inputs. In this case, an XLR to RCA cable can be used.

The parts needed are relatively self explanatory. An XLR connector on one side (may be male or female depending on the component), an RCA plug on the other side, and three wires to connect them. One can also use only two wires and short the XLR internally between pins one and three. Note the diagram below that pins one and three are connected to the sleeve of the RCA and pin two is attached to the tip.

Starting with a Neutrik NC3-FXXB (3 pin female XLR connector), each of the pins are identified by the small number that's actually printed on the front of the plug.

The inside of a Neutrik NC3-FXXB

If you follow this blog, you've already seen countless litz braids of silver plated copper in PTFE, so we will skip that and move on to the soldering of the individual wires to the solder tabs on the Neutrik XLR connector. Each joint should be heated quickly but adequately (not too long which could melt the plastic casing) which will result in nice shiny joints.

Wire soldered to the Neutrik XLR

Next comes the sleeving. In this particular case, the braided wire is covered with soft black nylon multifilament. The black nylon multifilament is made by the company TechFlex and has a nice vintage look. It can be purchased from online retailers like Cable Organizer and WireCare. In order to sleeve the wire, a hot knife is used to cut the sleeve to prevent fraying, it is then slowly slipped over the braided wire and once completely covered, the other end is cut with the hot knife. To hold the sleeving in place, adhesive heatshrink is used on the ends where the strain relief from the plug will eventually cover the cable.

Sleeved cable

As you will note below, the strain relief system is placed over the heatshrink to give it something to "grip" to. The metal barrel is then slipped over the front of the XLR plug.

Barrel and Strain Relief

The boot can now be slipped over the other end of the cable and screwed in place to secure the barrel and strain relief system. Neutrik does offer the FXX line with a number of different colors. I'm using red here to denote the right channel. 

XLR side is complete

Moving on to the other side of the cable, the RCA connector will be attached to the cable. First, the metal barrel for the RCA is slipped onto the cable, then the RCA connector soldered in place. Both the number 1 connection and number 3 connection from the XLR side are soldered to the ground or "sleeve" in this particular configuration. The number 2 connection is soldered to the signal or "tip". Once soldered in place, a small piece of heatshrink (in this case red) is used to prevent shorting between the ground and signal. The nylon sleeving is then slipped as far forward as it can go and the strain relief on the sleeve is crimped around it.  

RCA connector soldered in place

Now another piece of adhesive heatshrink is placed over the bottom of the RCA connector to act as additional strain relief and further secure the sleeving.

Heatshrink sleeving in place

Now the metal barrel of the RCA can be screwed on. The cable is now complete and can be tested. 

A single completed cable

The pair of XLR to RCA cables

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you are interested in purchasing a completed XLR to RCA cable, please contact Zynsonix.com.

The Fine Print:
The above steps detailing the building of a cable are for entertainment purposes only and not to be performed under any circumstances. The owner of this blog and all associated parties can not / will not be held responsible if you attempt the process posted and cause physical harm to yourself, your surroundings or your property. Please keep this in mind.

Recabling a Pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 Headphones

Beyerdynamic is a family-owned audio equipment manufacturer based in Germany that produces headphones, microphones and wireless audio systems. The headphones produced by Beyer are very solidly made, I'd imagine the rugged designs have the travelling DJ in mind. Still, the sound produced by Beyerdynamics top-tier headphones is something the discerning audiophile can really appreciate. The DT770, DT880 and DT990 models are ideal choices for the listener on a budget, and if one likes what they hear, there are pricier Tesla-based models that Beyer has recently introduced, namely the T-1, T-5p, and T-70.

The Beyer DT770, DT880 and DT990

The differences between the 770, 880 and 990 are surprisingly not subtle. The DT880 tends to be the most chosen for neutral listening, it is a semi-open design and has the most well-balanced presentation of the three headphones. The DT770 and DT990 are much more bassy, with the heaviest bass response coming from the closed DT770. The fully-open DT990 seems to have slightly less bass and a wider soundstage than the 770. I personally think that the 770 is the ideal movie and gaming headphone, the 880 is the best for analytical listening, and the 990 is good for audio enthusiasts who need a fun-to-listen-to headphone that matches a typical speaker system's bass response. 

While the sound of each headphone varies, the process of recabling them is nearly identical. Aside from the driver and cup design, the headphones appear to be identical inside and out. For this post, I will be recabling the Beyerdynamic DT880 headphones. Below is a stock DT880.

The Beyerdynamic DT880 Headphone

The wire for recabling a Beyer and still keeping the single-entry look takes a little bit more care than a typical headphone cable. When braiding, the wire should go from a litz braid to two twisted pairs about 2 and a half feet from the end. One of these pairs is nearly trimmed off, only leaving enough wire to get to the driver within the cup. The other twisted pair will be run through the headband. 

The braided Beyerdynamic cable

The wire is then sleeved and the long twisted pair gets some heatshrink to distinguish each side. 

Sleeved Cable

Then a four pin Neutrik connector is attached for balanced operation. If you are interested in reading more about 4 pin balanced connectors, please check out my post creating a 4 pin to TRS adapter cable. 

Cable terminated with a Neutrik 4 Pin XLR

Now that the cable is ready, the first step to getting inside the headphones is to remove the velour pads. These pads stretch over the frame of the cup, so there are no screws to remove, etc. You will notice a number of perforations on the inside of the pads, these holes make a big difference in the sound, covering them adds unwanted reverberation. If one replaces the velour pads with leather, it is preferable (in my humble opinion) to get the leather pads with the perforations inside. 

DT880 pads removed from the cups

The next piece is removed using a typical envelope opener to pry the plastic ring out of the cups. The plastic ring retains the driver and driver surround. Once it has been removed, one has access to the driver terminals. 

DT880 driver and driver terminals

There is generally a marking on the driver to determine the positive side. In this case it is a yellowish gold mark. I take the time to use a multimeter and verify this is the case before snipping off the stock wires. The left driver has three terminals, the center is the right signal which is not electrically connected to the driver but the wire that runs across the headband is connected to this terminal. The ground is also run from the ground of the left driver to the right driver. This is all removed and ignored as dedicated wires will be run directly to the drivers in the recable. This will remove unnecessary solder joints in the signal path and isolate the ground for balanced operation. Below is a photo of the shell of the DT880 stripped and ready for the recable. 

Beyer DT880 Shell

The latest models of the 770, 880 and 990 have a square opening that the stock wire is fed into, This square hole needs to be dremelled out so that it is round, then heatshrink built up on the new cable for a perfect fit. A custom retaining system is set in place to keep the cable from being tugged out of the cup. 

Wires soldered to the DT880 driver

The wire is soldered to the driver terminals with the assistance of engineer helping hands. The wire is then fed through the little grommet to the other cup. The headband is now placed over the wire and sealed back up using the zip-lock bag type mechanism. 

The wire is fed through the little grommets in the cups

The second driver is soldered on the same way, and we have a complete headphone!

Completed headphone

This headphone also has a balanced to single ended adapter so it can be used with both types of amps. 

Another angle

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you'd like your Beyerdynamic headphones (or any other headphones) by an experienced recabler with some excellent sounding cable, contact Zynsonix. Since the 770, 880 and 990 are all quite similar on the inside, each can be modded / recabled the same way. Here's a Beyerdynamic DT990 PRO with a recable with both a standard mini and a Pono output to maximize utility out on the road. 

Beyerdynamic DT990 modded with new cable, mini and pono connectors

The Fine Print:

The above steps detailing the recabling of a headphone are for entertainment purposes only, and not to be performed under any circumstances. The owner of this blog and all associated parties can not / will not be held responsible if you attempt the process posted and cause physical harm to yourself, your surroundings or your property. Please keep this in mind.

 

Mini to RCA Cable with some ViaBlue Connector Bling

The mini to RCA cable is a great option when you want to plug a portable device like an iPod / MP3 player or portable CD player (anyone still have one of those? ) into your home stereo. Modern smartphones let you stream radio stations and services like Slacker Radio and Pandora, why not plug all those great options right into your stereo?  You may have seen my other Mini to RCA Cable blog post, but I will be putting a little twist on the basic cable design with some beautiful ViaBlue connector bling.

ViaBlue is a relative newcomer in the vast sea of audiophile boutique connectors from companies like Cardas, Kimber and Audioquest. Their connectors are designed in Germany and have a unique visual appeal with their gold plated tips and matte black shells. Building using their connectors requires a little bit more effort than other connectors, at least in my experience. The design makes use of allen head set-screws, which require one to build up a large amount of heatshrink so the screws have something to "bite into" as a strain-relief system. I personally prefer a crimp-around ground terminal or the system that Furutech and Neutrik uses with some of their connectors which compresses a plastic sleeve with plastic ridges that secures the cable, but some sacrifices must be made for good looks I suppose ;) 

My favorite connector that ViaBlue makes, the Y-split cover, specifically the SC-2 Splitter 44920 in this particular build, is great for covering up unsightly "Y" splits where the whole cable run enters and two runs exit. These splitters are perfect for headphone cables, mini-to-RCAs, speaker cables and a variety of other applications. 

The ViaBlue SC-2 Splitter

The other connectors that would be used for this build are the T6S RCA Plugs and the T6S 3.5mm Phono mini plug. All make use of the set screw strain relief system and have the same sleek logo printed on the barrel. 

A bevy of beauties

The wire that would be used for this build is military spec silver plated copper in PTFE dielectric. The cable is a hand-braid of four wires, two for ground (or return), one for left signal and one for right signal. The wire in braided as a four wire litz for about five of the six feet of this cable, the final foot being two twisted pairs. 

Hand braided litz of silver plated copper wire

Once the wire has been braided, it can be sleeved. Black nylon multifilament was chosen for this purpose as the matte black on the connectors will match nicely with the soft black nylon. 

Cable sleeved in black nylon

The first step once the cable is sleeved is to attach the SC2 Splitter where the cable splits. 6 or so layers of heatshrink (preferably adhesive) must be built up so the splitter can get a grip on the cable and not move around once it is completed. 

Heatshrink built up for ViaBlue Splitter

The heatshrink should be as large as possible but still be able to fit through the bottom of the splitter. The gold allen screws are scewed into the heatshrink tightly, but not so tightly that they strip. 

ViaBlue Splitter in place

Next comes the mounting of the RCA connectors. The two gold allen screws are removed to gain access to the solder tabs within the plug. 

Opened ViaBlue RCA

Heatshrink is built up at the ends so the screw can grab onto it, in this case it is 3 pieces of 1/4" heatshrink overtop of 1/8" black nylon multifilament.

Extra heatshrink added to ends of cable 

The black plastic spacer and barrel are slipped onto the wire before soldering.

Wires soldered to the ViaBlue RCA

Everything is lined back up and the screws are replaced in the unit. The other RCA is installed the same way.

ViaBlue RCA fully attached

Next comes the 3.5mm mini connector. 

Opened ViaBlue 3.5mm mini connector

Two layers of 1/4" heatshrink are placed on top of the 3/8" nylon sleeving on this side of the cable. The black plastic spacer and barrel are slipped onto the wire before soldering. The solder connection to the left and right are rather close, so I added a piece of heatshrink to keep them secure and isolated. 

Wires soldered to the ViaBlue mini

The barrel and plastic spacing piece are lined back up and the screws are replaced.

ViaBlue mini fully attached

With all connectors in place, the signal and resistance is checked with a multimeter to verify signal continuity and that there are no shorts. The cable is now complete.

Mini to RCA with ViaBlue connectors

A second angle

I hope you enjoyed this documented step-by-step process on creating a mini to RCA interconnect with ViaBlue connectors. This cable was a special request taken at Zynsonix, where you can purchase the same cable or one built completely around your specifications.


The Fine Print:
The above steps detailing the building of a cable are for entertainment purposes only, and not to be performed under any circumstances. The owner of this blog and all associated parties can not / will not be held responsible if you attempt the process posted and cause physical harm to yourself, your surroundings or your property. Please keep this in mind.

Custom C7 Power Cable

If you're familiar with a standard IEC inlet, it has three separate connectors for hot, neutral and ground and is on nearly all audio equipment worth its salt, with a few exceptions of course. But we just can't be lucky enough that all equipment has an IEC three prong power inlet, can we?

Furutech gold IEC power inlet

Older equipment and certain newer universal disc players, among other things, have a C7 inlet. A C7 inlet does away with the safety ground connector, and is unpolarized, meaning that the hot and neutral is interchangeable as the cord can be aligned either way on the inlet. There are certain C7 connectors that are polarized which have a square end on one side and a circle on the other to ensure the hot and neutral go through the appropriate route.

Polarized C7 power cord

In my case, I'm currently building a Dynaco ST35 kit which combines the circuit ground with the chassis ground. When this is the case, there is a good chance for hum if attaching a preamp and amp on the same breaker if the circuit ground of each is attached to the safety ground of the power cords. Many of the forums I've visited recommend not attaching the chassis ground to the safety ground on the power connector to prevent hum on Dynacos. Please note that safety ground is called safety for a reason, if it's not connected and the circuit shorts to the chassis, it can be very unsafe.

I'm using a Shurter C7 inlet for my ST35, and it would be blasphemous for me to connect an ordinary C7 power cord to my tricked out new Dynaco ;)

Schurter C7 Power Inlet

So, what are the options for aftermarket C7 cables? PS Audio produces the 12 gauge Jewel power cord which is offered in a C7 configuration and runs ~$70-80 on the street, then there is the Audioquest NRG-1 power cord, which has a similar street price and comes in 16 gauge. Both are larger than the typical 18 gauge unshielded C7 power cord that comes with most equipment and are of course much more attractive.

In the interest of DIY, I chose to build my own. There are sparse few choices for a cable-end plug. Furutech offers a very attractive one, but at $45 as of this writing for a C7 plug is a little rich for my blood ;) It's also a little large for my purposes.

Furutech C7 power plug

Luckily, a builder in Japan offers a low cost C7 connector with solder connections that accept anything up to 16 gauge. These are floating around on that auction site if one searches for "C7 solder".

The power cord starts off a little differently than my other power cords. Rather than twist 10 gauge wires together in a spiral, I chose to use 16 gauge wire and braid it in a tri-braid configuration.

A bundle of 16 gauge silver plated copper in Teflon

Tribraided conductors

Then came the Teflon tape insulation, which covers the braided cable twice over.

Initial Teflon wrapping

A shield is then added over the top, which is connected to the source side ground via a soldered bus wire to create a floating shield.

Wrapped with a tinned copper mesh shield

The next step is two additional layers of Teflon are added to the top, over the braided mesh shielding.

Teflon wrapped 16 gauge power cord

Finally, the decorative techflex sleeving is added to the top, in this case both Chrome XC and black PET sleeving was employed to give a low-level shimmer. The low-cost Marinco 5266 is screwed down on one end and the C7 connector is soldered to the other. A piece of heatshrink is used as a strain relief, and in this case, the joint was bent at 90 degrees while the heatshrink was still hot for ample clearance behind the amp.

High quality DIY C7 power cord

Reverse shot detailing Techflex covering

The Fine Print:

The above steps detailing the creation of a power cord are for entertainment purposes only, and not to be performed under any circumstances. Please remember that attempting to use homemade power cords can be dangerous to you and/or your surroundings. The owner of this blog and all associated parties can not / will not be held responsible if you attempt the process posted below and cause physical harm to yourself or your surroundings. Many electronics contain high voltages that can kill, and DIY power cables can be a fire hazard. Please keep this in mind.