There are plenty of folks that make their own cables,and plenty of DIY instructions on the internet.Doesn't hurt to give it a try.I've only made speaker cables so can't offer any specifics on ICs.
DIY cable solution--what are my best options?
I just purchased (dirt cheap) a 6-ft. Audioquest Kingcobra IC. Not a pair, but a single cable.
My turntable has its original, cheap molded cables which are starting to give out and require adjustment before each play.
My idea is to splice this AQ KC interconnect and use one side for each channel. The "free" end would be soldered to the turntable (probably to the clips used in the present and past scenario). Is there any reason not to do this?
I also would like to try a high quality IC in lieu of the metal jumpers which connect the pre-amp section to the power amp section of my integrated amp. Is it reasonable to take two short pieces of the kingcobra IC and attach RCA connectors to achieve this goal? I realize it would not provide the same connection as the AQ cold weld system, but I feel it would be superior to markertek or mogami cables of similar construction. Is this sound reasoning? If so, any suggestions for RCA connectors would be appreciated.
Finally, since I have twice as much cable as I need, why not make a pair of standard RCA audio cables out of the excess cables. With 8 connectors I could have my integrated amp, turntable and one other source connected with better wire than I've been using.
As you might have guessed, it's a mid-fi system:
Dynaudio Countour 3.1 mkII spkrs.
REL Q150E powered sub
NAD C 320BEE integ. amp
NAD 572/ Sony PS-1 SCH-1001 CDP's
Denon TU-800 tuner
Stanton 8004 Gyropoise TT (refuses to die) with 681EEE cart
This is my first foray beyond Markertek in the IC dept., so ignorance abounds. Any and all advice welcome. My thanks in advance.
My turntable has its original, cheap molded cables which are starting to give out and require adjustment before each play.
My idea is to splice this AQ KC interconnect and use one side for each channel. The "free" end would be soldered to the turntable (probably to the clips used in the present and past scenario). Is there any reason not to do this?
I also would like to try a high quality IC in lieu of the metal jumpers which connect the pre-amp section to the power amp section of my integrated amp. Is it reasonable to take two short pieces of the kingcobra IC and attach RCA connectors to achieve this goal? I realize it would not provide the same connection as the AQ cold weld system, but I feel it would be superior to markertek or mogami cables of similar construction. Is this sound reasoning? If so, any suggestions for RCA connectors would be appreciated.
Finally, since I have twice as much cable as I need, why not make a pair of standard RCA audio cables out of the excess cables. With 8 connectors I could have my integrated amp, turntable and one other source connected with better wire than I've been using.
As you might have guessed, it's a mid-fi system:
Dynaudio Countour 3.1 mkII spkrs.
REL Q150E powered sub
NAD C 320BEE integ. amp
NAD 572/ Sony PS-1 SCH-1001 CDP's
Denon TU-800 tuner
Stanton 8004 Gyropoise TT (refuses to die) with 681EEE cart
This is my first foray beyond Markertek in the IC dept., so ignorance abounds. Any and all advice welcome. My thanks in advance.
5 responses Add your response
Here's the link to the Jeff's Place DIY interconnect page |
Is the IC you have shielded? If it is, one end of the shield will be floating, ie not soldered to the RCA connector. Therefore you cannot simply cut the cable in the middle and soldered the leads to your turntable. You will need to connect the floating shield to ground on both halves of the IC. Given that you plan to use it as a phono cable it would make most sense (at least to me) to ground the shield on the TT end. Thus you would need to figure out on which end the shield is grounded at and then somehow disconnect the ground, by de-soldering the shield from the connector (if you can access it without ruining the cable) If the cable is not grounded then you are good to go, but you may not want to use it as phono cable. as for your other ideas, I would not make a cable much shorter than 3ft. Shorter cables may work now, but if ever you want to add or changes components such as add a separate phono stage then shorter cable may no longer work. I hope this helps |