DIY LCD Cable Take II

[John Jordan]

Doing some digging on the net and then actual experimenting, I discovered that only pins 1 (+) and 3 (-) on the mini 4pin XRL's are necessary for cable hook-up. This makes assembly easier.

The cable is a single run of Morgami 2534 quad star. One white and one blue for each transducer. The mini XLR's are Neutrik Rean and the 1/4 stereo Neutrik. Length is 18 feet. Total cost about $45.

Overall, the sound is a bit more to my liking than the previous. Certainly more comfortable as this single run of four conductors is lighter than the dual run of shielded two conductor.

The shield floats unconnected to the mini XLR's and to the 1/4". I did experiment with connecting the shield to the 1/4" and there was 0 difference in the sound; it now floats, unconnected.

Again, I realize this is not a DIY site; perhaps there are a few folks however that will find this of interest.

Always Enjoy Your Sounds!

John J

[W9TR]

Thanks John - I now have a headphone amp with a balanced output (two actually) so will be building a balanced cable for my LCD 4’s.

[clpetersen]

Good post John - I built similar using Mongami 2534 for LCD 3's - I do recommend attaching the shield to the amp end of the cable (one side only) - it won't hurt anything, and may provide some noise reduction if needed (floating, the shield offers no 'shielding' action).

[John Jordan]

Tom-

When your cable is completed please post your thoughts. A nice thing about rolling your own is re-termination is No Problem when needed. Eyeing a dedicated balanced HPA myself.

CLPeterson-

Good suggestion on attaching the shield; it certainly won't hurt.

John

[BlueSky]

I built one too. I used Cardas 4 X 24 cable and Furutech mini XLRs and 4.4mm balanced connectors. I like the sound, the length of 5 meters and the color blue.

[John Jordan]

Nice Job Blue Sky!

Top quality components and the splitter where the cable divides adds to the finish. Who makes that piece?

Also, did you need to use a solder pot to burn the enamel off the Litz wires or just a good hot iron?

Again, Well Done!

John

[BlueSky]

Hi John and thanks for the compliment! I got the splitter from double helix cables dot com and I believe it is an "Eidolic" brand splitter. I achieved a good tinning on the conductors by simply using a soldering iron and WBT silver bearing solder.

[clpetersen]

Swanky cable Blue Sky!
Have not seen that type of plug connector - I guess it is a TRRRS (?), 4 balanced connections plus shield? What equipment mates with that?

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by clpetersen

Swanky cable Blue Sky!
Have not seen that type of plug connector - I guess it is a TRRRS (?), 4 balanced connections plus shield? What equipment mates with that?

Yes, it is a balanced connector and I am using it without the shield. It's a Furutech CF-7445 and it mates with my iFi Pro iCAN signature amp and my little iFi go Blu portable headphone DAC/AMP. I think it is a much better solution than the teeny tiny 2.5mm balanced connector that preceeded the 4.4mm size and much easier to work with.

[elwappo99]

Glad to see people making cables! A great cable can be made for a reasonable price with that connector.

Small point of information to add - The connectors are shorted inside the cup. (1 is shorted to 4) ----- (2 is shorted to 3).

It's common practice to remove the outer rubber sleeve and shielding. This makes a much lighter and flexible cable. The problem is you then have to sleeve it again. Quite a hassle. The shielding isn't connected to anything on the cup.