Homemade Mini-to-RCA cable

[phallumontis]

I have ZERO cable construction experience. However, I've got a pair of Silversonic Theater Select RCA's that I'd like to use as an ipod cable to hook up to my stereo. I know that I'll need a 3.5mm stereo connector (I've heard Canare make good ones), a soldering iron, and some solder. Is there some kind of online guide or something similar where I can get educated on the process? It seems like it would be a fairly easy thing to do, especially since I'm only modifying, not making, the cable. Any help would be great.:)

[ckacosta]

Here is a good cable forum:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=7&f=32

I am also very interested in making some custom cables. It amazes me how much the good cables are marked up. You can make a $100 cable for a few $ in parts (silver cable, gold/silver connectors, silver solder). The biggest thing is the labor. It is not impossible, but it does take some work.

[triple]

You could use this Audioquest adapter with your existing RCA IC's:
http://www.partsconnexion.com/catalog/connectors.html

It is only Ipod...

I use this Audioquest adapter for connecting various radios and such to my stereo int. amp.

Regards,
Goran

[phallumontis]

That didn't even occur to me, triple. Not a bad idea!

Great avatar, by the way.:righton:

[KT88]

That didn't even occur to me, triple. Not a bad idea!

Great avatar, by the way.:righton:

That's not a bad idea and I have used various adapters before. I'd just go to Radio Shack and get one however if that is what you want to do. An adapter is the worst way to connect anything however as it has a lot of potential (pardon the pun) problems.

You will be best served by buying a ready made cable while you are there. There are a lot of options for ready made RCA to Mini cables and Radio Shack is as good a place as any. You can select a moderate priced model and be assured that it'll last longer without any problems when subjected to regular use and or abuse, perform better, and deliver the most bang for your buck. Anything more than that is wasted on the iPod and every cable made will be at least of the quality of the iPod internal wiring and connections. Most everything there is overpriced for what you get but you'll realize that the convenience is worth it as is the fact that by the time you include shipping costs, it'll be a wash. Add your time in research to find a better solution and you'd be glad you just bought one for a few pennies more.
-Bill

[phallumontis]

Yeah, that's just the thing. I've bought Radio Shack's standard Y cables before and they get lousy over time. A connector wouldn't be bad, but a single piece of cable would be one less thing in the signal chain. I've got some Philips that are thin and cheap, and they sound like it too. I wanted to cheaply modify the cable I have because it sounds excellent for what it is and it's not being used for anything else. I refuse to pay $50+ for some Audioquest Black Cobra 9000 XP just to plug it into an ipod, but I still want to juice some good sound out of it.

Guess I'll just have to dive head-first into the DIY cable maelstrom...

[stevenkelby]

I just make cables for myself and some friends, it's not too hard when you have the right bits. If your keen, just go for it, it's fun! You can make cables in lengths and configurations that just aren't available off the shelf.

I'm not sure what the forum rules are but if anyone wants any custom cables made, I will do it for cheap prices. I can do literally anything with cables, ipod, imod, IEC power, mini-RCA, extensions etc. Lots of choices and I have lots of spare parts from buying in bulk for my cables. If anyone wants parts I'll send them to you for my cost too.

[Rolf Erickson]

Part of the fun in this hobby is getting involved with constructing your own stuff. I encourage it. This should be an easy start. The mini-plug is a bit small to work with, but go slowly and carefully, and you can do it. Try soldering some spare bits of wire first, to see how it flows when heated etc. Obtain a good wire stripper, flux paste, needle nose pliers, an iron of about 40 watts or so, Silver content solder might be nice here, 2% minimum or 4% is better. I have a bit of 4% silver-solder I could send you for $5.00 shipping cost in USA. Enough to do this job and more.