Thanks!
Yes, it’s a thicker cable. There are two completely separate cable runs, one for each channel, so twice as much sheathing, and the wire gauge is higher. The cable for each channel is a tiny bit thicker than the stock cable also - but of course there are two of them.
-
Stock cable diameter is 3.5mm total vs. the individual runs on mine are 4mm. The interleave of two channels makes the total cable thickness of mine about 8mm
-
Stock cable weighs 89 grams at 7 feet long. Mine is 140 grams at 6 feet long. In both cases, 40 grams of that is the connector to the interface, so isn’t adding to the suspended weight.
-
Stock cable is slightly more flexible.
If I built mine without the shielding, which is definitely an option, it’d come down to ~100 grams and actually be more flexible than the stock cable.
Most boutique headphone cables are not shielded - the rely on their braiding/twisting to provide some level of noise rejection. Though since many are braided for looks as much as anything else, this tends not to be as effective as it could be. On the other hand, unless you’re dealing with long runs of cable that is in close proximity to EMI sources it’s not much of a concern on a practical level*.
Raw parts cost for the finished 6ft cable in 0.1Ω configuration, is about $400. Though unless you buy parts in bulk, you’ll add $40 to that for shipping, since each component type unfortunately comes from a different supplier.
I’ve posted a break-down and more details on the DIY cable thread.
*I can certainly put together a real-world case where the geometry and shielding makes a clearly audible (and easily measurable) difference, but you’d never encounter it in a home setting unless you went out of your way to cause it.