The three styles I use on my modular headphone cables are all from Paracord Planet. Those specific styles have been pretty consistent for several years.
Otherwise I’m using entirely different sheathing from TechFlex etc.
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Maybe just the onse I’ve got off them. Mind sharing which types?
A local cable maker here swears by Atwood, says it doesn’t fray anywhere near as much. Limited styles and sizes though.
It’s all from their #550 Nylon line.
This is what I use on my shielded modular cables.
On my unshielded, I use the “Imperial Red Diamond” for the right channel, and “Silver w/ Black Diamonds” for the left channel.
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I have the black version of the 550. Seems ok, also have some of the other sizes and its a bit hit and miss.
Finding the 550 doesn’t fit over too much though. Certainly can’t get it over the shield of something like a Mogami Quad 2534 cable. Even the 750 doesn’t really, need to go to a 1100 or the quarter inch one.
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All I can tell you is that I’ve not run into any issues so far, nor has anyone I’ve built cables for. So I haven’t looked elsewhere.
As for sizing, since I don’t use that sort of cable stock it’s a non-issue for me. I wind my own geometry from individual strands of raw wire, with an appropriate core, spacers, cording and wrap, and then a hi-density copper matrix shield over that (for my shielded cables) and then the #550 over that. Which is a perfect fit for me. Larger would leave slack, that leads to fraying/abrasion (from the inside out) and more snagging (from the outside).
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How do you go about doing your own copper shield exactly? Feels time consuming.
I actually tried what Periapt to, Paracord over the jacket of the Mogami 2893 mini-quad. Used 1100 paracord. Horribly bulky cable. Not sure why people are into that.
I can see what you construct yourself, finding it hard to find a quad-core cable that ticks the boxes between quality, price and stiffness/feel. Doesn’t help nothing is available in Australia, so if I want to try anything from overseas its wait a few weeks and cop the insane postage costs.
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You can buy it as a pre-made matrix, so it really just comes down to working it onto the inner wire assembly, which is much the same process as getting paracord on.
It’s the INNER assembly I wind myself, in a complex proprietary, geometry. I don’t use any pre-made cable here, just build it up from the raw components, starting with raw copper conductors. And that is VERY time consuming. About an hour per foot. Then that has to be wrapped, shielded and sheathed. Which is one reason why the cables I make/sell so expensive.
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If you have the time and find enjoyment in it, why not!
I get maybe 3 hours a week to indulge in hobbying. Would never get one made at that rate. I have young kids and self employed, surprised I get any time to make things
You buy the conductors already in their PE jacket?
Nope!
It’s a ground up, raw, build for my best cables.
One of the reasons I went with a modular build was to avoid having to wind multiple feet of wire for every new headphone or amp connection. Another was cost, since the raw materials I use are expensive and only available in relatively large quantities. And then convenience for when I was reviewing.
Well now I’m curious. You wind the raw copper/silver, then jacket it somehow? Fkn wizard.
Basically.
Once I’ve wound the raw conductor strands, I insulate (jacket) them to make a “wire assembly”. Then those wire assemblies are wound to make make the eight wires that comprise the overall cable core. That’s the simple description … more would require more than I’m willing to write up (or would need a video).
It’s more than that. He buys copper ore, smelts and refines it, then hand hammers it into the wire he uses in the cable.
I’m just making shit up.
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The Insulate (Jacket) part is the interesting part. You dipping them in molten PE or something? Or taping them up with PE tape or similar?
Nope, to both!
Not giving all my secrets away …
Fair.
Sure as shit I will not attempt it though. Sounds like a lot of effort and time.
I think I’m mostly envious of the time you have to do things. It’ll come eventually.
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Benefits of being hyperactive/not needing much sleep, professional skillsets that afforded me the ability to work remotely (and then only a few hours a week) and then early retirement …
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And no kids / kids well moved out?
I actually haven’t had enough sleep the last 6 years. Suprised I’m still functioning.
I’m yet to fine a pre-jacketed wire I like. All the 24 awg ones (dime a dozen) are heavily filled with cotton or similar, not much metal in them, and not exactly cheap either. Ideally I’d find something 21-22 awg, not too much filler, and be able to use only 4 strands per cable.
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And cables like the Moon black dragon, use a PE jacketed 21.5 AWG wire inside. But the PE jacket is quite stiff and “brittle”. In that if you nick it with a knife, it breaks away easily. The super soft type wires often seen in these open braid cables, the jacket is much softer and elastic / ductile.
Nope, no kids.
Never been a fan of the look nor feel of Moon’s cables. Always seemed like something I could run up in 20 minutes from COTS parts.
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