Building balanced interconnects--ideas

I really like the FP-601/602 connectors and I have made several balanced cables with them. I like Cardas Quad Eutectic solder, even though it does have lead in it, I find it works really well at making a successful solder joint.

I would look at bulk preconstructed cable from high end suppliers such as Furutech, Neotech, or perhaps the VH Audio Symmetry. If you have to make it yourself, my favorite is the VH Audio Fine Silver Interconnect recipe and my preference is to use the caulk backer material as the core. If you carefully apply some strain relief at the connector, be careful not to overheat the caulk backer material as you apply heat shrink (the CB will melt), and don't literally pull on the cable by the caulk, you can make a reasonably sturdy, and pretty good sounding balanced interconnect (or rca interconnect) using this method. I have one made with 23awg silver in cotton wire that sounds as good as any silver IC I have had in my system. You can also make it with copper. Although the wire wasn't available at the time I made mine, I would now strongly consider using the VH Audio UniCrystal OCC Copper (or silver) Hookup Wire with AirLok foamed/cellular Teflon Insulation. You can look into things on your own as to how to configure and space the ground wire and shield (or not). Good luck with your project.

Thanks for your advice--I have been looking at VH Audio's recipes--suppose I don't want a shield--do you then run a ground wire soldered end-to-end vs a floating shield soldered at the source end? And please explain what appears to be the preference for a smaller guage wire in these recipes.

Mitch makes some good suggestions. I'll second using the VH AirLok hookup wire. If your system is already bright, use the copper, otherwise use the silver. If you don't really need a shield, just braid three together you'll connect a +, -, and ground on each end. A larger gauge isn't really necessary with the lower current; although, if this is for the connection between the pre and power amps, you may prefer using 21awg.

Here is what Chris at VH Audio says about the cable in balanced use:

This cable design also works excellent for balanced ANALOG cables. It is not neccesary (Most of the time) to ground a balanced connection, so you only need to use pins 2 and 3 on the XLR's. In some systems, Pin 1 will need to be connected at both ends, but this is rare....

* In some situations, you may experience problems with RF interference, due to the lack of shielding on this cable. If think you may have an RF problem, check out the VH Audio Pulsar double shielded interconnect here. This interconnect is available assembled, or the wire is available for you to DIY.

and here is a link to the information;
http://www.venhaus1.com/diysilverinterconnects.html
There are so many options when building these that I could not tell you what you will like best. I personally prefer the somewhat larger 23-24awg wire size (over the 28awg some use) and I like using a single wire for pos and neg. Others like doubling up the negative run for single-ended cables, although you should use the same exact wire/awg for each run of a balanced cable. You can also space a shield away from the conductors if needed. Theories vary on whether to hook the shield at one end, or both ends. If you search here, Audio Asylum, Audio Circle and other sites, you will find more information than you need on diy cables.

IME, for a "made from scratch" diy cable, the configuration shown on Chris' website, when used with the caulk backer and high quality connectors, is hard to beat sonically. I used slightly larger caulk backer (I believe 1/2 inch) for even greater spacing of conductors. If you are worried about the durability of the caulk backer, then try Chris' soft teflon tubing.