Help on DIY Cables (1 Viewer)

[Larry Proud]

I am thinking of making my own interconnect cables with Belden 1695A cable and Canare RCAs. Anyone had any experience with this cable? Which Canare dies and RCAs do you use? The Canare catalog only show F connects for 1695A.

Larry

 

[Greg_R]

http://www.bus.ucf.edu/cwhite/theater/diycable.htm has the information about Canare cable & dies. I've built a few and have been pleased with the results. I'm not sure, but I think you purchase the die based on the connector (i.e. cable choice doesn't matter, as long as it fits in the connector).

 

[Kevin Deacon]

Here's what I did. I built cables from Canare L-5CFB cable and Canare RCAP-C5F Rca's. A friend of mine had recently purchased an Ideal crimp handle that came with a die. I don't have the number of the Ideal die but it had four different crimps. The top crimp was for R6 cable connectors, the next was for the smaller connectors (R56??), then there were two small crimps. I used the bottom crimp, which was the smallest of the two for the center pins of the connectors. This die worked perfectly for both crimps. My friend purchased the Ideal handle and die at Fry's electronics in Tempe, Az. This combo was much cheaper (around $50.00) than the Canare dedicated handle and dies. I am going to pick one up soon. Hope this helps.

I've seen the Ideal brand at Home Depot and Lowe's as well, but I'm not sure about the die as described above.

 

[DerrickN]

Here is another link for you :
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/etmcable.htm

 

[Larry Proud]

I appreciate all the info. What I specifically need to know is which Canare die set works for Canare RCA plugs with Belden 1695A cable.

Thanks,

Larry

 

[Pete Mazz]

Markertek
I don't see the 1695 mentioned???
Pete

 

[ThomasW]

Might want to give the Jon Risch recipe a try. I have a pair someone loaned me to test. They are VERY impressive IC's, significantly better than a $900 pr of AudioQuest Diamond 3's

I know crimp-on connectors are the current rage I prefer to use solder.

 

[Brandon B]

You want the RCAP C53 connnector with the belden 1695A ( I just built a set of shielded component video cables this weekend with them, Jon Risch design). I had to "fake it" with the crimper as I don't have the die set for the C53, only the C4F. The correct die and crimper for the C53 can be found on the Canare site.

Markertek does not carry the C53, but there was a site mentioned in a thread this morning that I bookmarked at work that did. I'll post tomorrow a.m. Also, Have, inc. seems to carry all the Canare stuff with no min. order.

Cable performance? I had a 6 ft set of Radio Shack gold componennts on my DVD player. My 10 ft DIY's are OBVIOUSLY better. My HT tolerant wife agrees completely. My 4 year old doesn't quite understand the question though.

BB

 

[rich r]

If solder was the choice method of termination. What would be the best choices of rca'a to use???????????

 

[Brandon B]

Use the same RCAP C53. Derrick's referenced site above gives pretty good instructions on how to solder these connectors instead of crimping them.

The Canares are purported to be the only "true" 75 ohm RCA connectors (debated by some), which is desireable for coax digital or video cables.

For audio IC, this is not the goal (50 ohm nominal impedance is the goal?), so you can go with something else. Basically, fit your budget and preference. I made my audio IC's with a Canare solder type RCA F-10 (and Belden 89259), but Jon RIsch and other cable gurus prefer nicer ones like Cardas and such (2-3X the price and I was making nearly 20 cables)

BB

 

[Andrew Low]

Might want to give the Jon Risch recipe a try.

ThomasW, could you be specific on which Jon Risch recipe? His website shows a progression through various types of cable, to using two cores and twisting them. There is also a website www.diycable.com that sells kit form versions of his stuff (well, based on his stuff).
Thanks
Roo

 

[ThomasW]

Actually Jon Risch as also 'blessed' the locking RCA's from PE. $11.00 for 2 prs

 

[Rob Lloyd]

I've had several good purchases from Zack Electronics they seem to have lots of Canare and Belden connectors.
Their web site sucks but they respond to email very quickly and of course the phone also works well.

 

[Brandon B]

The other source for Canare stuff was
http://www.josephelectronics.com
BB

 

[Clay Autery]

Curious... Why don't y'all just use the Canare cable and tools with the Canare 75 Ohm RCAs? That's what I do.

I bought a 300m reel of L5CFB (RG6) for my SAT/OTB whole house install and have been using the left-over cable with newly acquired Canare RCAs to make some seriously kick-ass interconnects, component cables, and composite cables (for my wife's and son's systems). I am sold on Canare products in general... The solid core cable is a little stiff, but works great. I don't move my stuff around much anyway...

 

[Brandon B]

The Canare stuff is top notch quality cable. The Belden is considered by some to be a little toppier notch (last 0.1% quality thing).

The canare RCAP-C53 is specifically made for the Belden cable, so it's not really a compromise or anything.

As for the tools, they are not cheap (although cheaper certainly than buying premade cables of comparable quality).

If I had a reel of the canare cable already on hand, i probably would have too.

BB

 

[Clay Autery]

Belden better than Canare? I'd have to see the test results... Perhaps they make one or two parts that are that good, but I'd put the Canare stuff up against most anything... I just love it... With their stripper tool (awesome) and their crimp tool (also awesome), it makes doing coax cables a joy. Of course, it helps to be a wire and cable freak to begin with.

Speaking of which... I ned to go grab another 50-100 RCAs from my supplier... I'm almost out. Have plenty of F and BNC left, but the RCAs seem to go very fast around here.... (My neighbors found out that I make custom length interconnects et al cables).

The deal with the Canare tools is that you'll never have to buy them again... they are super quality. I'm trying to complete my collection of all the dies as soon as I can.

I would have preferred to use the larger CFB line for my broadcast/sat leads, but I couldn't afford two reels at the time, and I KNEW I could use the RG-6 as interconnect cable... can't put RCAs on the larger cable (that I am aware of).

 

[ThomasW]

Andrew
The IC I'm playing with is the older recipe. Twisted pair of Belden 89259 cores spaced with two teflon tubes, covered with a copper braid then adhesive shrink wrapped, soldered on locking WTB RCAs.
I was ignorant of the Risch recipe until a friend brought this pair over. After a couple of longish listening sessions I knew it was better than any cable I had in the house. I did heard a fullness in the midbass that was somewhat bothersome with certain recordings. That motivated me to read the info from the Risch site for the first time. Jon too describes this midbass effect. His latest recipe uses a combo if the Belden 89259 and 89248. He states that this eliminates the midbass fullness. I don't have access to a pair of the newer design, but I will be getting some soon.
I have several AudioQuest Diamond 3's, AudioQuest Emeralds, Accuphase Standards, Sliver Sonic BL-1 terminated with Canare RCA's, and Canare LV-61S terminated with the Canare RCA's.
In comparison to the Risch recipe all the above cables were flat and 2 dimensional.
To double check my perceptions, I had my girlfriend (excellent hearing, but not a trained ear), and an audiophile friend who's into vinyl/tube gear, listen as well. Both validated what I heard. They didn't know which cable was playing and the volume control (46 step Shallco stepped attenuator) wasn't changed between cables.
The speakers system we used for the listening are my Link Removed with the Link Removed. This is a fairly revealing system.

 

[Clay Autery]

Would one of you mind dropping the link to this Risch y'all keep talking about? I'd like to go read up on his site...

I'm getting ready to move all my components to a new rack and will need to make a completely new set of interconnects and speaker cables to fit the new installation... I'd like to "move up" the scale a bit...

Thanks,

 

[ThomasW]

Clay
Here ya go
http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/index2.htm
The downside to the Risch recipe is that they are very labor intensive