The ULTIMATE DIY HiFi RCA Guide!

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  • Опубліковано 27 лип 2024
  • Ever wonder what makes a HiFi RCA cable? Can you DIY HiFi RCA cables and save thousands? You can! And I am going to show you exactly what type of wiring and ends to use so you can save thousands by making your own DIY HiFi RCA Cables.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 61

  • @williambracken1447
    @williambracken1447 Рік тому +3

    I’m definitely going to do this! Thank you so much! Love these videos, saving my wallet and keeping me off the AudioQuest site!

    • @Toid
      @Toid  Рік тому

      You got this!

  • @stephenyoud6125
    @stephenyoud6125 Рік тому +15

    I did exactly this with Neutrik plugs and Mogadishu quad core. But I joined the two clear cores for the positive and centre pins and joined the blues for the negative and added the shield only at the end to be connected at the source (the surround controller) and left the shield unconnected and trimmed off at the other end ( the subs in my case). The idea being the shield will provide further shielding in addition to the two twisted pairs but will only be grounded at the source end. This was a recommendation I picked up from the Swiss Gotham Cables site. Also the sum of the cross sectional area of two cores from the quad core is greater than the single cores in the two core

    • @Toid
      @Toid  Рік тому +1

      That’s a great tip. I almost talked about this in the video, but decided not to. Glad that we brought this up.

    • @carlose.martinez545
      @carlose.martinez545 Рік тому +1

      That's exactly the way audio signal cable were recommended to be made in The Amateur Audio magazine, using Mogami cable. The two white wires joined to the shield on one ground end only, the other ground end just with the white wires. Some consider it's better to just crimp, not solder, the two wires or two wires + shield to the ground "tube". On thing that I should recommend is to use a short piece of shrinking to the "ground area" and apply heat on it. And trim carefully all the excess shield copper wire.

  • @thecartruthreport8451
    @thecartruthreport8451 Рік тому +21

    I always thought it was a good idea to turn off any electrical equipment when plugging and unplugging things

    • @Toid
      @Toid  Рік тому +2

      It absolutely is for the reasons stated in the video. But sometimes you just forget.

    • @mathiasragginger4322
      @mathiasragginger4322 Рік тому +2

      Those connectors definitely have an advantage in live broadcast or pa environments where you might need to hotplug audio connections. However at home, where you always have the option to just turn your system off for a moment while you unplug or plug something in they mostly have no point. Still some nice connectors tho and i can see the point for some people.

    • @GoodkatNW
      @GoodkatNW Рік тому +1

      @@Toid You'll forget even more often if you don't build that habit of always turning your system off before making a change....good tutorial, I just wouldn't recommend that people get in the habit of hot swapping cables.

    • @Toid
      @Toid  Рік тому

      @@GoodkatNW I completely agree. I don’t want anyone hot swapping cables either. It’s just another added form of protection for those that may need it.

  • @rogeliogarcia258
    @rogeliogarcia258 2 місяці тому

    I like when he said "blowing the tweeter" huh...huh....that was cool.

  • @rtk4214
    @rtk4214 Рік тому +3

    Nice video, but your title is incorrect and misleading, it should read "A more flexible coax cable for RCA use". Let me explain and then maybe you can make a follow up video which is true to your title. The correct way to make an RCA cable using the Mogami W2549 is as follows:
    1) Noise rejection comes from the pre-amp (operational amplifier on the receiver side) which the cable is connecting to. All op-amps amplify based on their differential input, even when designed as a single ended amplifier, and not specifically as a differential amplifier.
    2) The amount of noise induced into a wire is based on its loop area. If you have uneven loop area on your two input wires (in an RCA this is signal and ground), the induced noise will be different, and this difference will be amplified by the op-amp. When the noise on the signal/ground is the same the noise will not be amplified.
    3) A 2 wire input, such as an RCA, does not have a true shield, the shield (if connected to the ground) is actually part of the signal path. We need to change that.
    4) The goal is to have the same amount of induced noise on both your signal/ground lines. By providing equal loop area for the signal and ground wires this can be achieved.
    5) Do not join the blue/clear twisted pair together and connect them to signal. Do not connect the shield to the ground. This will give a difference in loop area for the signal/ground and different induced noise for the signal/ground wires.
    6) Use the twisted pairs within the W2549 as your signal and ground wire. The blue/clear wires have the same loop area and in theory exposed to the same induced noise, due to being twisted. The shield has a different loop area. Remember to maintain the same polarity of the signal blue / ground clear at both ends.
    7) This will give the same loop area for each wire and any induced noise will be equal on the signal and ground inputs. The induced noise will then be subtracted by the op-amp and not amplified.
    8) The shield wire should be cut at the receiver end and not connected to anything. At the source end of the RCA cable the shield wire should be soldered to another wire, called a drain wire. This drain wire should be connected to an earth at the source. Some sources won't have a dedicated earth connection, but in the case where the source component has a metal case and isn't double insulated you may be able to create one by sanding away the paint and bolting the drain wire to the metal enclosure. If this isn't practical you will need to connect the drain wire to earth at a GPO. Obviously the length of this shield wire will be dependent on your individual setup.
    I hope this makes sense and you can use the information. If you have any questions or would like clarification then please ask away.

  • @DIYAudioGuy
    @DIYAudioGuy Рік тому +1

    Excellent!

  • @CLaudiusClemensJimmy
    @CLaudiusClemensJimmy Рік тому

    look so easy when in the pro hand, while im doing it might cost me an hour and that even not doing it right. thanks for your tutorial vid man... Gof Bless

  • @ebuford
    @ebuford Рік тому

    This is very timely as I'm getting ready to convert a room in my house to a home theater. I'm starting from scratch and want to build some of your projects to get me there.
    I know this is a low number but I only have $1000 budget, can you recommend an amp, and speaker builds that go together for a budget home theater?

  • @BlankBrain
    @BlankBrain Рік тому

    I only use balanced cables (my equipment has balanced inputs). Surprisingly, Monoprice sells some pretty good ones. Where I live, gold plated connectors are important because contacts tend to corrode and get noisy. Deoxit can help overcome this if existing internal connectors aren't gold.

  • @mathiasragginger4322
    @mathiasragginger4322 Рік тому +7

    Great video as usual, but i have one gripe with it. You say soldering the two inner cores together will get you better noise rejection, twisted pair wires definitely work great for noise rejection and it´s a well known mehtod, but only on balanced cables where those two wires carry an opposite signal to each other cause the difference in signal will be cancelled out by the electronics at the end, this concept also works if one core is your signal and the other one is ground, however it definitely wont have any effect if both wires are soldered together aka carry the same signal and thus effectively become one core.

    • @Toid
      @Toid  Рік тому

      That is a very good point. Thanks for helping further the community.

    • @michaelrobinson9643
      @michaelrobinson9643 Рік тому

      agreed, at that point you have a common node at each end and it's no different to a stranded wire.

  • @pavlo687
    @pavlo687 Рік тому

    The cable you recommend is 5mm O.D. (.197"). This is right between 1/8" and 1/4". What size braided sleeve do you recommend using - 1/4" or 1/8"? I've never used it before and not sure how much it will 'stretch'?

  • @crisfiler6128
    @crisfiler6128 Рік тому

    I've got a case of 40 x 6.5" bass drivers ( peerless I believe) and various tweeters...I've always wanted to build a pair of large column/ line array speakers, maybe 16 drivers per side. Any suggestions on what to make....They would be used for hi fi listening and I prefer fast punchy bass. Thanks.

    • @Thomas..Anderson
      @Thomas..Anderson 8 місяців тому +1

      The first step would be identifying them or measure their T/S parameters. This would give you a starting point what can be made with them.

  • @st170ish
    @st170ish Рік тому

    So how many times did it take to remember to put the plug back cap on the wire first

  • @michaelrobinson9643
    @michaelrobinson9643 Рік тому

    Engineer with history in transmission line theory... always interested in what people have.
    For an inwall run to my sub I've used a high quality coax as the shielding provides excellent rejection, sheath is in wall rated and flexibility is no important. I terminate to F-Type connectors.
    For interconnects a 2 core cable is a nice option given the number of radiating sources in a cabinet. I still recommend having it shielded and personally terminate shield at only 1 end but some will do both.
    The RCA connectors with advancing sheath are a great option. Shame they are not easily sourced in all places :/

    • @hanscleung4633
      @hanscleung4633 Рік тому +1

      Ive ordered 4 metres of nice two transmission line shielded cable. I intend to do what you have described ( directional rca, shield terminated at one end) but some people recommend grounding the shield at both ends? Could you kindly clarify.

    • @michaelrobinson9643
      @michaelrobinson9643 Рік тому +1

      ​@@hanscleung4633 As I mentioned in my post in the comments grounding at both ends will mean you have connected the shield, and the return together thus removing the benefit of a shield and second conductor.
      If you ground the shield at both ends any noise energy it picks up in the air will become part of the signal, not sent to ground.
      Terminating the ground at both ends may be what people are saying when they use a single conductor as that is required for that style of cable, or if they do not know what they are talking about.

    • @michaelrobinson9643
      @michaelrobinson9643 Рік тому +1

      @@hanscleung4633 This is from another post I made discussing antenna effects and using a shielded cable.
      This is correct. You are using the shield to trap radiated emissions from outside the cable and you get rid of it to ground. If you "ground" the shield at each end using the outer part of the RCA you are using the return line and thus turning your shield into a 2nd return... making the whole point of 2 conductors and a shield pointless.
      Terminating shield at each end is ONLY useful on single conductor where the shield is the signal return, OR if the ground topology of your equipment required it (not in the purview of audio)
      In general, the highest level of rejection of interference will be twin conductor, external shield terminated at one end (source to prevent possible antenna effects).
      Called "Directional Cables", these are simply applying the basic fundamental tenets of Electrical Engineering and being Audio they use a bunch of wankery to upmarket them as special rather than common.
      You don't NEED them for a system to work though. A basic coax or 2 conductor with no shield is going to be fine for sending a signal. The signal will be vulnerable to noise though and in the systems of today with active radiators like wifi right where your cables are... it makes a difference.

    • @michaelrobinson9643
      @michaelrobinson9643 Рік тому

      @@hanscleung4633 May I ask what cable? a link perhaps?

    • @hanscleung4633
      @hanscleung4633 Рік тому

      @@michaelrobinson9643 thank you kindly for your detailed reply! Ive ordered up the Hifi ORTOFONN RCA Kabel Ortofon 8NX, and a length of Van Den Hul MC-SILVER IT 65 cable.
      Thank you!

  • @sergiobisonte
    @sergiobisonte Рік тому

    I have some flexible RG cable... will it sound bad? I dont ming if its stiffer than normal rca cable..

    • @Toid
      @Toid  Рік тому +1

      No it won’t. RG cable is fine to use, I just don’t prefer it.

  • @Pete.across.the.street
    @Pete.across.the.street Рік тому

    I made all my cables from Mowgami with wbt connectors, except for the power, made them out of redwave.

  • @DIY-valvular
    @DIY-valvular Рік тому

    A tragically funny thing: A 69 cent per foot Mogami cable may have a ten bucks price tag here in argentina!... (so the stiff RG9 aluminium catv cable is still an option... sad but true...) A couple of basic Audioquests here can cost something like the average salary of a worker!
    By the side of the RCA plugs with spring retractable ground sleeves, ok, nice gadget. But a conscious audiophile always mute the amp before maneuver with interconnects. ;-))

  • @NaturalBBler
    @NaturalBBler Рік тому +4

    It is the same thing in car hifi, you can buy overpriced "HiFi" power cable. Or you buy "welding" cable, high flexible and cheap and 100% copper.

  • @hanscleung4633
    @hanscleung4633 Рік тому

    Im about to make my own rca - it has two signal cables.
    Im considering the following.
    1. Merge two signal cables, earth the sheath only (do this both ends
    2. 1 live signal, 1 earth cable, ground earth and sheath, float sheath other end.
    Please help there are compelling arguments for both methods

    • @Toid
      @Toid  Рік тому

      If you have a ground loop problem, then you might want to try 2 to see if it helps. This will be considered a directional cable now.

  • @strangebreed3832
    @strangebreed3832 10 місяців тому

    Truth about rca cables video by d'amore engineering interesting also

  • @mullinperformanceaudio5902
    @mullinperformanceaudio5902 Рік тому +1

    The trolls are out in the comment section today. Great video Nick...

  • @danielwatts9803
    @danielwatts9803 Рік тому

    Nice lamp cables..

  • @TheBababa420
    @TheBababa420 Рік тому

    I am not an expert and I don't rea;;u know. but I would have thought that two inners wire would have been you plus and Minus and the copper shielding would be there to shield the audio from unwanted signals. but only tied on one end as not to make an antenna.

    • @Toid
      @Toid  Рік тому

      You can do that if you want to make a directional RCA.

    • @michaelrobinson9643
      @michaelrobinson9643 Рік тому +1

      This is correct. You are using the shield to trap radiated emissions from outside the cable and you get rid of it to ground. If you "ground" the shield at each end using the outer part of the RCA you are using the return line and thus turning your shield into a 2nd return... making the whole point of 2 conductors and a shield pointless.
      Terminating shield at each end is ONLY useful on single conductor where the shield is the signal return, OR if the ground topology of your equipment required it (not in the purview of audio)
      In general, the highest level of rejection of interference will be twin conductor, external shield terminated at one end (source to prevent possible antenna effects).
      Called "Directional Cables", these are simply applying the basic fundamental tenets of Electrical Engineering and being Audio they use a bunch of wankery to upmarket them as special rather than common.
      You don't NEED them for a system to work though. A basic coax or 2 conductor with no shield is going to be fine. The signal will be vulnerable to noise though.

  • @Profanity42069
    @Profanity42069 4 місяці тому

    Just don’t have the amplifier energized while plugging in cables. Don’t need the fancy end.

  • @luminousfractal420
    @luminousfractal420 Рік тому

    Just remembered i bought some mogami for my beyers about 9years ago......where the fk did that go 😂
    After years of testing though i can say the nicest sound comes from pure silver (look for military aircraft communications wire), but the return cable with a mix of pure silver and gold plated ofc. Sounds expensive but if you think outside the box a bit you can get it all fairly cheap. Think mine cost $100 all in all.
    Also miniature aviation sockets are awesome 👍😎 (as well as big aviation sockets with about 30pins lol, monsters)

  • @nerdfpv
    @nerdfpv Рік тому

    Just use a Cat 7 cable😂

  • @TorgeirFredriksen
    @TorgeirFredriksen Рік тому +1

    I think it would be better to ground one of the inner wires and only use the other for signal.

  • @petenamlook18
    @petenamlook18 Рік тому +1

    Why would you swap RCA cables while your system is energized? Not a great idea.

    • @Toid
      @Toid  Рік тому

      Definitely not a good idea. Typically when I see this most the time it’s when something happens to the equipment and they’re trying to figure out or diagnose what is wrong. That or they just got a new piece of equipment and aren’t thinking about it. It happens more often than you would think. But if you can remember to keep your equipment off on changing your RCA cables, there’s no need for the pro-fi.

  • @epi2045
    @epi2045 Рік тому

    The Neutrik Profi I would not recommend. That spring loaded ground ring is a weak point mechanically and electrically. There’s a reason why most high-end home audio cables don’t use this method. That Neutrik connector is better for pro audio if you’re not using balanced XLR connectors.

  • @BericBuilds
    @BericBuilds Рік тому +2

    $1,000 "hifi RCA's" is a scam lol.

    • @Toid
      @Toid  Рік тому +1

      True

  • @alferro3149
    @alferro3149 Рік тому +3

    How to make $10 DIY HiFi RCA Cables for $30!

  • @josesantos503
    @josesantos503 9 місяців тому

    Flexibility is not quality of sound or not?

    • @Toid
      @Toid  9 місяців тому

      It’s ease of use

    • @josesantos503
      @josesantos503 9 місяців тому

      @@Toid My goal is better sound if possible few expansive I used rg6 and I did not big diference against Sommer or klotz cables but with chinese cable unifilar yes this are better.

  • @cosmiccharlie8294
    @cosmiccharlie8294 3 місяці тому

    Be wise and turn off your components before connecting

  • @StrawDragon
    @StrawDragon Рік тому +2

    Must of missed the decimal point. Or some garbage monster cables. But not $1000 cables. Click bait!

    • @michaelrobinson9643
      @michaelrobinson9643 Рік тому

      I think the Author's point is that simple engineering is all you find in $1000 cables. Some have better quality components and that does not guarantee improved electrical or acoustic performance. I would describe different cable styles though if making a guide. These come with drawbacks.

  • @jonanon8193
    @jonanon8193 Рік тому

    Oxygen free copper !?!?!?? what on earth makes you think you get better signal quality?

  • @Michael.C.Duisburg
    @Michael.C.Duisburg Рік тому

    a new plug for 19 euros does not make a high-end hi-fi cable. the trick is to solder the wires and shielding in the right way. if you plug in the cable and switch off the hi-fi system, these plugs are overpaid and not necessary.
    I got 12000 views in 12 days, why?

  • @Alchemist7887
    @Alchemist7887 Рік тому +2

    The high-end speaker wire industry markets oxygen-free copper as having enhanced conductivity or other electrical properties that are supposedly advantageous to audio signal transmission. In fact, conductivity specifications for common C11000 (ETP) and higher-cost C10200 oxygen-free (OF) coppers are identical;[12] and even the much more expensive C10100 has only a one-percent higher conductivity-insignificant in audio applications.[12]