The ULTIMATE DIY HiFi RCA Guide!

[@williambracken1447]

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]

You got this!

[@stephenyoud6125]

I did exactly this with Neutrik plugs and Mogami 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]

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]

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.

[@ruofish]

Nothing wrong but also unnecessary. You can do this with a shielded single core cable. With 4 core (dictictive color) shielded cable it is possible to make a stereo pair of XLR out of it with common shield drain to the source.

[@stephenyoud6125]

@@ruofish the point is by joining pairs of cores tog you increase the cross sectional area and reduce resistance compared to single pair or single core, and the floating shield connected connected at source end gives better EM and RF shielding

[@ruofish]

@@stephenyoud6125 1. Getting one size up single core will yield more cross sectional area than joining two smaller core, for less money. 2. The 2 cores that you connected to the shield does not do any shielding and are wasted. Cores are for signals. Hence why I said there's nothing wrong with your approach but it's unnesssary. If I'm to build from fresh, I would get a single core shielded or twin core shielded (twin core for different sound signature, not for cross section) and build a pair of idividual cables. If I start with a 4 core then I will try to build a stereo pair within that with some care in doing the jacket.

[@thecartruthreport8451]

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

[@Toid]

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

[@mathiasragginger4322]

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]

@@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]

@@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.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Excellent!

[@rtk4214]

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.

[@CLaudiusClemensJimmy]

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

[@mathiasragginger4322]

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]

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

[@michaelrobinson9643]

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

[@michaelwilson7830]

are these any good for car audio? I’m gonna have to get 12 pairs of the profi RCA connects (250$) with running 6 RCA‘s out of my head unit into a DSP and then 8 outputs to 2 amps.

[@ebuford]

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?

[@pavlo687]

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'?

[@st170ish]

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

[@sergiobisonte]

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

[@Toid]

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

[@BlankBrain]

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.

[@michaelrobinson9643]

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]

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]

​@@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]

@@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]

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

[@hanscleung4633]

@@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!

[@crisfiler6128]

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]

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.

[@expatconn7242]

23 Awg small wire ?

[@hanscleung4633]

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]

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.

[@Pete.across.the.street]

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

[@DemonPrinceGrazzt]

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

[@NaturalBBler]

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.

[@peterbigblock]

Don’t hot-swap RCA cables in your stereo system. Turn everything off (or at least your amp) before plugging/unplugging cables. Even with the fancy Neutrik connectors, why take the risk? I use Mogami cable and Neutrik REAN connectors, works great.

[@mullinperformanceaudio5902]

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

[@DIY-valvular]

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. ;-))

[@danielwatts9803]

Nice lamp cables..

[@TheBababa420]

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]

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

[@michaelrobinson9643]

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.

[@petenamlook18]

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

[@Toid]

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.

[@TorgeirFredriksen]

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

[@josesantos503]

Flexibility is not quality of sound or not?

[@Toid]

It’s ease of use

[@josesantos503]

@@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.

[@strangebreed3832]

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

[@BericBuilds]

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

[@Toid]

True

[@Profanity42069]

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

[@alferro3149]

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

[@nerdfpv]

Just use a Cat 7 cable😂

[@StrawDragon]

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

[@michaelrobinson9643]

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.

[@ropeburn6684]

Hear me out, you can simply make connections with your gear turned off, to protect your speakers". Infact you should always do that by standard, and every manual mentions it. This springy mechanic on the expensive plugs is completely unnecessary and nothing but a potential mechanical failure point. For nothing.

[@luminousfractal420]

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)

[@epi2045]

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.

[@Michael.C.Duisburg]

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?

[@cosmiccharlie8294]

Be wise and turn off your components before connecting

[@jonanon8193]

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

[@synaesthesia2010]

don't be an idiot, turn your amplifier OFF before plugging or unplugging cables, duh!!!

[@Alchemist7887]

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]