These are the instructions for DIY interconnect cables. I decided to make these as I simply could not find cables for my system that met my criteria in terms of cable quality, RCA interconnect style (I really wanted locking plugs), and visual style. Well that's not true.... I did find some cables but they were between $1,000 and $3,000 for a 2 meter pair. After a very long search I decided to use LC-1 cables made by Belden. These are used in bluejeans cables and people really seem to love them (I wanted locking RCA plugs instead of the Canare plugs they use so that was one reason I didn't buy from them directly). You can buy LC-1 cable by the foot or in spools on rawcable.com.

Here is a picture of the things you will need.
Cable
RCA plugs
Techflex jacket
Heat Shrink tubing
soldering tools
basic tools like a box cutter, screwdriver, scissors, tape, needle nose pliers, wire stripper.

HINTS: As this was my first real DIY project it shows that you don't have to have a lot of experience (or skill in my case) to do this stuff. I learned some things which may be of benefit to new DIY'ers.
1. Get the thin soldering wire, it's easier to work with in small RCA cable interior spaces.
2. Use one those little helping hand things pictured above, it's really hard to hold the cable and work on it at the same time. They're only around 10 buck on ebay.
3. You can cut the techflex with the soldering iron and the end won't fray open (don't use the tip as this is used for soldering, use the body right above the tip, and then you can clean off any little plastic residue later).
4. Put the techflex on before the RCA connectors (or at least before both RCA plugs are on).
5. Have fun designing your cable in advance (cable type, RCA plugs, coverings, heat shrink, etc). There are so many things to choose, that what's great about it.

Oh, I also learned that you have to pay attention and not touch the hot end of the soldering iron by accident,... ouch!

Locking RCA interconnects. These are great as they simply slide on to the female RCA binding posts and then you twist the outer jacket which camps it down to a super tight contact (much tighter than standard plugs as they can't be too tight or else you can't get them on and off). These put almost no wear or tear on your equipement when changing cables as they are completely loose when fully opened.

Plugs disassembled. They also completely twist off so if you ever want to change the plugs you can just loosen the soldering and you don't have to make completely new cables.

A look inside the plug. You can unscrew the securing screw to let the cable in, and then put it back so as to minimize the stress on the soldering points.

First cut the cables to your desired lengths. Then using a box cutter/razor blade/exacto knife, peel away the housing. I first made a parallel cut, then a round cut and I was able to pull off the outer rubber jacket with ease leaving the metal jacket underneath unharmed.

Housing removed.

Using a small screw driver or piece of metal with a point (you can use your soldering iron point if you wish [obviously not heated]) push the braid apart one braid at a time down until you are near the rubber outer housing.

Next wind the braiding wires with your finger into a nice tight length.

Mark 3/8 of an inch from the end of the insulation. This may depend on your plug type and then using the cable striper cut away the insulation covering from the central wire. If you cut the central wire you will have to adjust the length of the outer covering and braid as they will not fit will into the RCA plug.

Here is the cut with the striper tool in the background (bought for under $4 from ebay). You can see the wire exposed but not damaged or cut.

Wire exposed after insulation pulled off.

Push the braided shield parallel to the cable.

Now trim it back with some scissors or wire cutters so that the soldering points will match up with the RCA plug style.

Side note, don't buy a chinese made soldering iron off of ebay for $3 even if sounds like a great deal! I made this mistake and as soon as I turned it on it started smoking, the tip never heated up enough to melt anything..... I got this set from Home Depot for $17 and it works really well. They also include a couple extra tips, and a nifty little tool that I used to unbraid the shielding cover (I don't even know what the heck it's supposed to be used for).

Now push the cable end into the RCA plug and solder the contacts into place.

Cut your techflex covering to appropriate sizes. And you can put these on the cables. I would put these on before putting the RCA plug on the other end, it's easier to push on without a large plug in the way.

Now cut your heat shrink tubing. By the way, Monoprice.com sells a nice little cable kit for around 7 bucks that has different sized techflex and heat shrink tubing (item #'s 2354 and 2351). Take a look so you don't have to buy big roles of these when your only going to be using small sizes anyway.

Fancy heating gun stolen from my girlfriend's bathroom! Put it on high and shrink the tubing.

Before

After

Cut the techflex cable to appropriate length and slide it onto the cables. Then cut wide heat shrink tubing (this is 20 mm size) and use it to secure the techflex to the wires as well as cosmetically hiding the ends of the techflex.

I didn't take pictures in between these steps, but I put the 4 black smaller techflex pieces on the ends of the two cables, then I pushed the wider techflex to joint the cables together. There is about an 1.5 inch overlap so that the heat shrink will make it nice and secure. By the way... the central techflex is a "rattle snake" design. If you go to techflex's website you can see they have many designs, choose one that you like, or stick with good old black which comes with the wire kit I referred to above from monoprice.

Using a multimeter (you can get a cheap one from ebay for under 10 bucks) test the cables making sure the center pins and grounds connect with no shorts. If there is no connection or cross connection between the pin and the ground go back and check your soldering and cables.

All done!

All connected up!

Made a 2nd cable (2 ft) for connecting components. I was impressed by the improvement in sound quality by the first cable so I wanted to have the components connected with the same cable.

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Comments (5)

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naglayaloshad  » Dec 28, 2012 12:12 AM

Nice work man. Cables looks good and must have great quality for a reasonable price. And it's always great to know that you did it by yourself!!!

brap88  » Jan 09, 2012 04:18 PM

Great job on the cables invenio!!!

Garth Hyson  » Jan 09, 2012 09:12 AM

great job!

mangosta  » Jan 08, 2012 06:59 AM

There is nothing like DIY, expectation, implementation and operation produce a very strong emotion. I enjoy DIY and I found that combined with this incredible Home Theater hobby is the perfect recipe for spending time at home and share with the family. Congratulations for DIY cables, they are really State of the art, I guess they work as well as they look. I enjoyed seeing your gallery and step by step photographs.

ldgibson76  » Jan 07, 2012 04:52 PM

Invenio! I knew it! I called it back in September 2011! You're a "Audio Mad Scientist!" The DIY interconnects are very impressive. A masterful job indeed. Now have you compared the new cables to the cable company manufactured models? And if so, any aural differences? Here's the rub, if there is no difference detected, then you have accomplished a couple things. 1) You can make a cable that is equal to anything that's out there for pennies on the dollar and 2) If that is the case, many of us are straight up suckers, or at the minimum, we lack the wherewithal and skill set to build our own cables and save a lot of money! I'm most likely in category "2"! Congrats on a job well done.