it's not hard to do - though the advice above to practice is good. It's easy to overheat your connectors which will ruin them, so start wiyth cheap ones until you have the hang of it. Parts Exresss is another good source for parts (shrink, connectors, solder) and tools.
I've cut long ICs down and made multiple shorter ICs. I also purchased bulk cable and did some DIY. The latter is a cheaper way to go I expect since you pretty much will destroy the resale value of any cable you cut on yourself. An option here is to ask the original manufacturer to reterminate them for you (at a handsome fee), or sell them and do true DIY as TVAD illustrated.
>>Insert the new interconnect plug into an old component input or output jack <<< an excellent idea!
I've cut long ICs down and made multiple shorter ICs. I also purchased bulk cable and did some DIY. The latter is a cheaper way to go I expect since you pretty much will destroy the resale value of any cable you cut on yourself. An option here is to ask the original manufacturer to reterminate them for you (at a handsome fee), or sell them and do true DIY as TVAD illustrated.
>>Insert the new interconnect plug into an old component input or output jack <<< an excellent idea!